Public stockholding permanent solution urged to protect food security and preserve special and differential treatment for developing countries.
The Statement urges conclusion of a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security under the Agreement on Agriculture, criticises entrenched AoA flexibilities that privilege developed-country subsidies (including the Aggregate Measure of Support and de minimis allowances), rejects narrowing of special and differential treatment for developing countries and LDCs, and endorses exemptions for humanitarian procurement while insisting that government-to-government transactions be permitted to ensure global and domestic food security.

Common but differentiated responsibility: India urges moratorium on distant-water subsidies and exemptions for small-scale fishers to protect livelihoods.
India urges fisheries-subsidy rules to balance sustainability with socio-economic needs of small-scale, EEZ-based fishers; endorses common but differentiated responsibility and polluter pays principle; calls for a 25-year moratorium on subsidies by distant-water fishing nations beyond their EEZ, exemptions and transition space for low-income and artisanal fishers, differentiated de-minimis thresholds, inclusion of non-specific fuel subsidies in disciplines, and capacity-building to ensure policy space for livelihoods and food security.

Export promotion for Ladakh agricultural products expands market linkages and capacity building to boost international sales.
APEDA, with the Union Territory of Ladakh, organized an International Buyer Seller Meet in Leh to expand export opportunities for apricots and other temperate agricultural products from Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir by facilitating B2B linkages between regional producers, startups and international buyers, supporting capacity building, organic certification, technical collaboration with a regional agricultural university, and leveraging recent pilot shipments to create sustainable market channels and improve livelihoods.

Export promotion of Indian mango varieties expands market access through an APEDA-organized mango festival in Bahrain.
APEDA launched an eight-day Mango Festival in Bahrain to promote export market access for Indian mango varieties, showcasing 34 varieties procured directly from farmers and two Farmer Producer Organizations, displayed at eight retail locations and supported by procurement, transportation facilitation, and inclusion of both fresh and processed mango products.

TRIPS waiver and pandemic response: urgent call to negotiate therapeutics and diagnostics alongside IP provisions for equitable access.
The statement links the WTO pandemic response text inseparably with a satisfactory TRIPS outcome, urging simultaneous finalization and immediate commencement of negotiations on therapeutics and diagnostics. It asserts the necessity of a TRIPS waiver or an equivalently effective mechanism to expand manufacturing and ensure equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, while noting India's procedural compromises and objecting to certain draft language such as "some developing country Members" and any pre shipment notification requirements.

Public stockholding and Special Safeguard Mechanism must be preserved to protect developing-country food security and farmers.
The intervention insists that prior decisions and a dedicated work programme toward a permanent solution for public stockholding remain operative and should not be reopened from scratch; it calls for an accessible Special Safeguard Mechanism to protect developing-country producers, and urges preservation of special and differential treatment and flexibilities under Article 6.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture while mobilising a coalition to secure a development centric outcome.

Public stockholding for food security: India urges a permanent solution protecting procurement policy space and development interests.
India prioritises a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security to protect national procurement at administered prices and preserve policy space, rejects linking that issue to other agricultural matters, and opposes burdensome advance notification and blanket exemptions that could harm domestic food security. India demands Special and Differential Treatment and transitional flexibility in fisheries negotiations to curb trade distorting subsidies while safeguarding livelihoods and sovereign resource rights. It also contests premature e commerce rule making and the automatic extension of the moratorium on customs duties, and seeks pandemic responses that protect TRIPS flexibilities and address supply side constraints without imposing permanent WTO disciplines.

Nation-building through cultural outreach: customs organised children's art and staff slogan competitions to foster civic and tax awareness.
Delhi Customs organised children's painting competitions on the theme 'Mere Sapno Ka Bharat' and an inter-commissionerate officers' slogan-writing contest on Indirect Taxes during Iconic Week under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav; the programmes provided materials, refreshments and awards, sought to foster civic pride and imaginative contributions to national development, and to promote awareness of indirect taxation's role in financing public development.

Export promotion through trade fairs enhances Indian wine market access by facilitating exhibitor participation and international outreach.
APEDA facilitated participation of ten Indian wine exporters in the London Wine Fair to enhance market access and export opportunities, supported by outreach activities including workshops and wine tastings. The press release highlights industry capacity and incentives, noting export volumes and principal destination markets, Maharashtra's role in wine production with state excise concessions and small-scale industry classification, and the sector's rapid growth, together constituting a coordinated export-promotion effort.

Corporate governance: robust oversight and transparency essential for sustainable business models and investor confidence in India.
Corporate governance, ethical conduct and accounting transparency are core determinants of long term business sustainability. Effective board oversight, risk management, internal audit and clear codes of conduct, combined with robust disclosures, are necessary to ensure financial statements remain relevant and reliable. Entities should avoid aggressive accounting, imprudent funding structures, asset liability mismatches and unrealistic strategic assumptions. Regulatory reforms and mandated disclosures complement these governance practices by improving investor confidence and facilitating capital allocation and timely resolution of stressed assets.

TRIPS waiver sought for pandemic response, with FTA negotiations to advance bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
India sought support for a TRIPS waiver for pandemic response and set out its WTO negotiating priorities, including positions on e commerce and the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, while bilateral talks emphasized advancing a Free Trade Agreement with the European bloc alongside reforms to reduce business costs and the India France Fast Track Mechanism.

Bilateral cooperation in industries and advanced technologies to strengthen supply chains, technology transfer, and sectoral innovation between India and UAE.
Approval is granted for a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the United Arab Emirates to cooperate in industries and advanced technologies, focusing on supply chain resilience, renewable energy, health and life sciences, space systems, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 technologies, and standardization and certification. The MoU aims to promote investment, technology transfer, deployment of key technologies, employment generation, increased research and innovation, enhanced domestic production and exports, and reduced imports, aligning with the objective of greater national self-reliance.

Monetary policy: repo rate raised 50 bps to 4.90% as MPC emphasizes withdrawal of accommodation to rein in inflation.
The MPC increased the policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.90 per cent, adjusted the SDF to 4.65 per cent and the MSF and Bank Rate to 5.15 per cent, and resolved to continue withdrawal of accommodation to anchor inflation toward the medium term CPI target of 4% (+/ 2%). Inflation for 2022 23 is projected at 6.7% and real GDP growth at 7.2%, and all members voted unanimously for these decisions.

Free Trade Agreements expand market access, supporting export growth and transformation into a seafood processing hub.
India aims to double marine product exports within five years by promoting sustainable fishing, ensuring catch quality, expanding aquaculture and coastal shipping, and supporting value addition to develop a seafood processing hub. The Ministry will reduce import hurdles for raw materials, deploy Indian missions to aid exporters, and pursue Free Trade Agreements and enhanced Market Access to open new export opportunities. Stakeholder roadmaps address production, productivity, and sectoral sustainability across fisheries, rubber and spices.

Whole of government approach to shipping reforms to unify procedures, adopt port tech, and reduce logistics costs.
The standing committee promoted a whole of government approach and national infrastructure integration to remove procedural bottlenecks, improve transshipment and CFS utilisation, and reduce logistics costs through re-examination of procedures, adoption of uniform best practices, wider deployment of Port Community Systems, and a single-window user interaction dashboard backed by stakeholder workshops.

Merchandise export growth signals widening trade deficit as imports surge, driven by petroleum and gold demand.
Merchandise exports rose 15.46% in May 2022 to USD 37.29 billion and were up 22.26% for April-May 2022 23 at USD 77.08 billion. Non petroleum exports and non petroleum non gems & jewellery exports grew in May and for the cumulative period. Imports increased more steeply-56.14% in May to USD 60.62 billion-resulting in a May trade deficit of USD 23.33 billion and an April-May deficit of USD 43.73 billion. Petroleum products, electronic goods and gold were principal import drivers; petroleum products, electronic goods and RMG led export gains.

Combating wildlife trafficking by strengthening Customs-led enforcement, intelligence sharing and contraband identification across the aviation sector.
A two-day capacity-building workshop brought aviation stakeholders together to reinforce prevention, detection and disruption of wildlife trafficking by enhancing Customs-led enforcement at entry and exit points, improving intelligence sharing and databases, providing hands-on identification training for wildlife contraband, and promoting investigative measures including disruption of financial networks; presenters also noted that a new, broader law with multi-agency powers was in development to strengthen enforcement.

Physical verification of export documents required to prevent ante dated letters of credit and trigger enforcement under FT(D&R) Act.
Regional Authorities must physically verify all applicant documents, including Letters of Credit already approved, before issuing wheat export Registration Certificates; professional agencies may be engaged. Verification must confirm recipient bank endorsement and investigate instances where LC dates precede but message exchanges post date the regulatory cutoff. Suspected ante dating will lead to full investigation and initiation of proceedings under the FT (D&R) Act, with examination for referral to investigative agencies and action where banker complicity is found.

Prohibited export enforcement: Red sanders seized and detained under Customs Act, export ban enforced and investigation ongoing.
DRI seized a container at ICD Sabarmati after scans showed concealed logs; examination revealed 840 Red Sanders logs (14.63 MT) hidden under declared toiletries. Preliminary forest officer identification confirmed Red Sanders, a species whose export is prohibited under the Foreign Trade Policy, and the goods were seized under the Customs Act. Operation Rakth Chandan led the interception; investigations into the domestic movement, transport and exporter are continuing.

Inflation management: RBI prioritises withdrawal of accommodation and calibrated rate rises to restore price stability.
The Reserve Bank has reprioritised policy to tackle elevated inflation, implementing rate actions (including an off-cycle May meeting) and signalling calibrated repo increases while planning liquidity normalisation over two to three years. The RBI will use a range of instruments-SDF, CRR adjustments, OMOs, operation twist, currency swaps and HTM changes-to remove surplus liquidity, manage the yield curve and ensure orderly government borrowing, while preventing excessive exchange-rate volatility and monitoring banking-sector stress; crypto activity remains a regulatory concern conveyed to the government.