COVID-19 and its effect on Palm Oil trade in India

 

Introduction

 

Trade between two nations has always been a very dynamic and is influenced by a number of factors, both international and national. A large number of bodies formed to oversee various treaties, whether environmental, fair trade practices and so forth, also influence international trade. The sudden impact of pandemic caused by Coronavirus has added another dimension to the trade compulsions of various economies and import of Palm Oil from Malaysia has also been a victim of the restrictions imposed. However, in addition to the uncontrollable restrictions caused by COVID, there have been other factors which need consideration. Restrictions imposed by COVID and absence of people coming to eateries has hit the catering industry hard and further restrictions on import of economically placed Malaysian Palm Oil will only aggravate the conditions further.

 

Vegetable Oil and Indian Cuisine

 

            Oil is an intrinsic part of Indian cuisine and is used widely in all preparations. Being a vast nation with large requirement, India can not meet its requirement from domestic production and per force has to import edible oil. It is estimated that approximately two thirds of total edible oil requirement is met ex import. This fact makes India a very lucrative market for edible oil producing nations and various practices, ethical and unethical, are employed to influence opinions in favour of their products. Traditionally, a bulk of import has been of Malaysian Palm Oil which, suitably blended, meets the Indian taste preferences. 

 

Roadblocks in import ex Malaysia

 

            Activists have created a narrative branding Malaysian Palm Oil unsuitable for India for various reasons. These issues need to be analysed in correct perspective.

 

            One section of activists feel that since Palm Oil is a mass production Oil, it favours large plantationsand adds to exploitation of small farmers, thereby promoting poverty. Nothing could be far from truth. Like all other cultivations, Palm Oil cultivation also has a healthy mix of large- and small-scale farmers engaged in farming akin to sugarcane in India. Due to its high demand, all players get a fair chance to be a part of industry as per their capacity.

 

            Environmentalists have put across a view that due to its growing demand; more and more land is being converted into Palm Oil cultivations by denuding the forest cover, thereby adding to global environment hazards. However, all nations engaged in large scale cultivation, including Malaysia and Indonesia, have been active members of  various summits and have taken visible steps in retaining the forest cover.

 

            The most common argument against import of Malaysian Palm Oil is it being unhealthy due to presence of very high percentage of Saturated Fats which adds to Cholesterol formation in human body. While it may be true to some extent that Palm Oil does have a relatively higher percentage of Saturated Fats when compared to Olive Oil or Canola Oil, it also has healthy levels of healthy unsaturated acids which balance the ill effects to a large extent. 

 

Way Ahead

 

            The compulsions of India in restricting import of Palm Oil from Malaysia are well appreciated but the factors in favour far outweigh the perceived myths that have been created. The Malaysian Palm Oil has been used in India for decades, especially for large scale cooking by the hospitality Industry which has to ensure taste preferences and economy of Indian clientele. The taste of delicacies made in Palm Oil have met the approval of Indian palate and pocket.

 

            While need to promote the domestic oils is supreme and should be safeguarded, the fact remains that production of Oil producing foods is inadequate and per force imports have to be relied upon. Other substitutes like Canola or Olive Oil, apart from being expensive, do not fulfil the two basic conditions; taste and high temperature cooking. 

 

Conclusion

 

            Hospitality and Catering Industry is an equally important component of Indian economy and needs to be preserved. Let us not fall prey to unfounded fears against Malaysian Palm Oil and create a panic. The Industry is responsible enough to safeguard the health issues of its clientele and will not indulge in any unethical practice which compromises safety of its customers. Malaysian Palm Oil is a suitable cooking medium for Indian cooking as it has been for many decades and should be seen as such.

Mr. RakeshTayal, Eminent Visionary, Educationist appeals to Govt. to Transform Indian Education System by raising it from Edu 2.0 to
Edu 4.0 to make it Compatible with Industry 4.0

• To bring Paradigm Shift in Policy on Education For Transforming Indian Education System
• The basic purpose of education and training is to empower an individual to lead successful life and contribute best to himself, family, society, nation and to humanity

Mr.RakeshTayal, Eminent Visionary, Educationist & Vice Chairman, Panipat Institute of Engineering & Technology (PIET), one of the Northern India’s premier educational institutions of technical and managerial excellence have come forward to urge the Government to bring in a paradigm shift in policies to make Education system compatible with the emerging economic and Industrial development and its requirements & to raise the education level from Edu 2.0 to Edu 4.0 to make it compatible with Industry 4.0.

The vision document presented by Mr. Rakesh Tayal has been prepared from the perspective of understanding the present education scenario and the transformation that the education process in the country needs to go through thereby enabling the nation and the society as a whole stand up to the fast changing industrial environment.

“Currently, Indian education system is identified at Edu 2.0 which is way behind the Industry 4.0. To match that level, an advanced revolution in educational domain is required urgently, not only to meet the industry needs but also to create a system that promotes sustainable learning and enhance capabilities with optimum resource utilization.” Said Mr.Rakesh Tayal, Eminent Visionary, Educationist & Vice Chairman, PIET.

“Enterprises across the world are gearing up for a revolution much greater than before. We stand at the cusp of a bigger transformation that will reinvent every aspect of global business, culture and economics. This is the emergence of Enterprise 4.0 – a phenomenon that will change the way the world perceives education, employment, entrepreneurship and competition. Therefore, organisations are actively seeking future-ready leaders who are not just responsible and result-oriented but are also innovative, collaborative and have the ability to synergise technological advancements with human touch. Amidst this revolution, institutions worldwide are realizing the need for a paradigm shift in higher education.” Mr. Tayal further added

Elaborating about Edu 4.0 Mr. Tayal said it is more about strengthening and incorporating student-centric learning where emotional quotient (EQ) is more important than one’s intelligence (IQ). Now, machines will be able to do most of the tasks that people can and humans and machines will work together as a cohesive workforce.  If we really want India to progress, we need to improve the education standards throughout and develop personalized learning strategies particularly higher education. The basic purpose of education and training is to empower an individual to lead successful life and contribute best to himself, family, society, nation and to humanity.”

“Since Education 4.0 denotes changes, relevant to Industry 4.0 and since it is in response to the global call for action by World Economic Forum - the Industry can expect better-prepared workforce, students will have better employability and better preparation for future with a better return expectation on educational investment.” Said Mr. Tayal.
World is on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution where concepts of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, big data and the internet of things will combine to impact on jobs and industry. These technological advancements shall change the dynamics of an educational institute right from kinder garden to universities, based on the ever evolving scenario students need to be oriented in a manner that they are able to seamlessly blend as per the skill sets required in a Futuristic Industry.

India is going to reap a demographic dividend where by 2025 about two-third Indians will be in its workforce. To create employment for so many people, economy and industry has to develop at a faster and higher growth. At the same time, those people have to be educated, trained, skilled and put on a continuous learning curve to meet the requirement of a growing economy.

In these days and times of transformation where change is the new normal and given the advent of Industry 4.0 the Eco-System need to be aligned in a manner that the Education that one garners is futuristic in approach and one that can assist the learner seamlessly fit into the Industry requirements.
So what India needs to do to improve its education system? Broadly,

• Develop a system to promote imparting knowledge and skills. For this, devise curriculums in association with industry and corporates to strike a balance between needs, capabilities, interest and expectations.
• Reduce focus on marks and grades. It negatively impacts students’ well being. Rather focus on ‘Students Development Index’ based on not just IQs but also on Knowledge Quotients (KQs) and Emotional Quotients (EQs).
• For sustainable learning, move from Factory oriented approach. From very beginning, promote learning and not memorizing. This will improve class room attendance as well as reduce school dropout rate. Simultaneously, it will also enhance quality of knowledge and skills.
• Economic well being of population also weighs on students attending school. Ensure that paucity of funds does not affect a child’s education. Instead of reservations and quotas based on caste and creed, introduce funding avenues for economically weaker students. This may include free education up to a certain level and then giving financial assistance to needy and deserving students.
Complete transformation of our education system has to work towards making students  Life Long Learners and also strengthen their Spiritual Quotient (SQ) to help in overall personality development. Future Education models should focus on creating Higher SQs and ability to control one’s mind. This would also require educators to become mentors to facilitate greater learning and knowledge sharing in the country.

Knowledge is going to be most coveted feature of futuristic society. Lets make India a knowledge hub.

At micro level, given the changing paradigm of education and learning, the focus as Educators and importantly as Nation Builders should be on:
• Creating a futuristic class-room
• As every student’s learning requirement shall be different, the facilitator identifies the need and works in sync to design a curriculum that suits the students learning needs best
• A class-room should not be a pigeon hole ( as has been the case since year’s) rather a place where learning happens through discussions, ideations and collaboration
• Books should be an aid not the only source for learning
• A student should have the liberty and option to mix and match his subject electives as per his interest
• Emphasis and training sessions be conducted to create Champions who create Jobs
• Learning should be Applied and Hands-On in nature
• Institutions like Schools, Colleges, Universities and Corporate should not work as independent islands rather there should be a seamless collaboration between these institutions so that students are oriented and made to experience the best facilities and learning environment right from the formative years

For more information please contact:
Sushila Jain, Mob: 09999395952, Email: shelly.ahlawat@gmail.com
Rituparna Madhukalya, Mob: 08860117728, Email: rituparna@fourthestateindia.com

There has been off late a lot of talks around palm oil and effects it has post daily usage.
The news to many would be to know that Palm oil has been with us since the origin of mankind.
Many generations and cultures found many different ways to utilise palm oil. History tells us the use of Palm oil has been wide and all over the world.

Palm oil face a stiff competition in terms of use and acceptability. To palm oil its most competitive counterpart is Coconut oil.
Palm oil have all traits like coconut oil and finds it use as cooking oil and also have  lots of nutritional value too.
It's good on the stomach too as it does not convert into fats as fast as other oils and hence does not make us Fat like other oils do.

All this is possible because palm oil do not raise our cholesterol level and also is good because it does not have Tran’s fats. Sometimes not having things is also good. No cholesterol and Trans fats means healthy heart and body.
Now this is really something everyone wants, don’t we?!

Also production of palm oil is super easy and convenient, both on environment and pocket. Due to high demand and low usage of fertilizers to grow the plant it becomes a natural choice for farmers.
Isn't it a no brainer that to cater to needs of future generations our gradual dependence on other oils is only going to reduce?

Palm oil isn't only restricted to cooking healthy dishes because of its tasteless nature. It is used in various industries commercially like FMCG industry, cosmetics industry, as a cleaning agent and what not.

Grown in tropical areas, palm oil is also more competitive in terms of price compared to other oils.
Now the thing that's also astonishing is that palm oil accounts for almost 50% of the total amount of total vegetable oil. It is possible only because palm plantation yield is highest in the category of vegetable oil cultivation. Now it surely helps in food security doesn't it?
Even with all these traits palm oil has found enemies.
We seldom find palm oil promoted as much as it peers and a large part of the world still is not using palm oil.
But slowly the word is spreading. The strengths and uses of palm oil is reaching millions all around the world.
Slowly palm oil is being adopted in our consumption needs and other oils are facing competition.
I have moved to healthiest and most economical choice of oil in the market for all my needs, Palm Oil. So can you.

A grand retrospective show was organized at Delhi Collage of Art where the audience got an opportunity to witness the memorable journey of its founder-principal Ashwani Kumar Prithviwasi. On his path, Mr Ashwani came across a lot of struggles but he also cherished moments of success. While talking about his journey Ashwani said, in 1996 there were only five institutes of fine arts, two government, two semi government and one private. At that time many people who wished to learn arts didn't get an opportunity to pursue their interests. Some were occupied in jobs while others had age limitations. At that time on 17th August 1996 a new institute was launched with the initial name of Ashu Rangshala with just a single student in Uttam Nagar, Delhi. Gradually the numbers started increasing. Mr Ashwani did a lot of efforts to make people aware of the immense possibilities in fine arts. In 2001 this institute transformed in to a professional one. Regular courses were prepared and admission dates were finalized. Afterwards, academic calendar for activities like Annual event, tours of art galleries, interaction with renowned artists, visit to their studios and outdoor classes, all became a part of the curriculum.
Mr Ashwani told that he didn't consider the age of his students at the time of enrolment and maximum knowledge was imparted in the initial year of the course.12th pass students could join any of his courses. For working people, all classes used to be organised on Sundays which was quite different from other institutes. Mr Ashwani himself had been enrolled for Art courses for 12 years and had garnered a vast experience. He started studying formal courses from 1990. His journey started after doing BFA course from College Of Art.

The alumni of this institute are doing well these days. 7000 students have passed out from here till date which includes people from forty countries. Some are running their own art institutes while some others are freelance artists. As of now, Delhi Collage of Art has many branches. This institute got its present name in 2001 which is inspired from the collage of Picasso. This institute gives equal opportunity to well off as well as poor students. Almost 100 poor students have been taught free over here and they are doing well today.

This has happened for the first time In India that a private institute organised a foreign tour for its students. Almost forty students were sent to Paris and they got to see the beauty of Monalisa. Students also got opportunity to visit Rome and Milan in Italy for better exposure. This is an annual affair. Annual Tours to biggest museums of the country also started which include tour of Rajasthan, Ajanta Ellora, Khajuraho and Sanchi Stupa. Most of the art exhibitions of this institute are organised in Lalit Kala Academy. Annual fest are organised at FICCI, Sai and Kamani auditorium. For the first time in history, this institute has awarded BC Sanyal Award and Lifetime achievement award to renowned artists like M. F. Hussain, Krishna Khanna, Manjeet Bawa, Ram Sutar, Jatin Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, Anupam Sood and Niren Sen. This institute has felicitated sixty artists. No other institute had been able to achieve this feat. Ashwani hiself is a renowned artist. In 1999 an exhibition of Ashwani’s mirror paintings was organised in Gurgaon. It was the first time in the history that mirror paintings were exhibited

VERSUS owned by the house of VERSACE, has the most youthful and cutting edge collection of timepieces for rebellious spirits who love iconic fashion accessories. Designed for a generation who believe in showing off as part of their look, VERSUS VERSACE promises a “More Than Fashion attitude” that is bold, youthful, fearless and proactive!

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As the awareness of Global runway brands are growing on a larger rate in India, VERSUS VERSACE aims to target young, fashion conscious men and women who are seeking for classy yet quirky affordable luxury wearable

Cooking is one of the most important activity we do everyday mindlessly to feed us. One of the most important ingredient no matter which meal we cook is Oil. Olive oil, Mustard oil, Sunflower oil, sesame oil all are the very common names of oil we see at at homes or at resturarest we eat. The one unsung hero out of this list is the Palm Oil.

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Dr Bhavna Shah (MPOC Regional head for India & Sri Lanka) recently gave a talk  at the “Malaysian Palm Oil Council” at Ardor 2.1 i happened to learn and know more about the use and benefits of Palm oil. It came to me as such an eye-opener to knowkPalm Oil is used in food processing industry to pharmaceutical industry. The wide array of benifits that ride with usege of this oil is far beyond anyone's knowledge. Companies like Nestle, McDonald’s, Kellogg’s in food space  & Reckitt Benckiser, P & G, Colgate Palmolive etc. for cosmetics like soap, shampoos & toothpaste has been using Palm oil from a long time. 

Dr Bhavna Shah

Palm oil is a wholesome and nutritious oil suitable for human consumption tested and certified by CODEX Alimentations. Palm oil has justjthe right balanced of fatty acid composition and high content of vitamin E. 

Palm Oil even benefits the world

• It is the world’s most efficient oilseed crop – It yields 7 – 10 times more oil per hectare than other oil-bearing crops.

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• To cultivate palm oil, less land and fewer fertilizers than any other oil crop are used
• Palm oil is the staple oil which more than 2 Billion people arounwd the world have been using.
• It supports 300,000 small farmers in Malaysia and over 4,000,000 farmers worldwide.

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Palm Oil is an important commodity in the global oils and fats market and it is an essential vegetable oil for ensuring global food security. Malaysian palm oil industry’s sustainability policy and certification system ensure the production and the availability of high-quality palm oil in the global market.

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All work and no play makesmjack a dull boy. People at the organising team indetified it and kept pretty interesting activities for us. We headed into a treasure chase in which the first stop was Pandeypaan. Here we tasted the paan consisted of nuts which were fried in Palm Oil. Our next location was Mybar headquarters, where we h made an innovative plate of mixed greens by means of picking 5 ingredients utilizing palm oil as primary with vegetables and Spices.

At Punjaby Nature, where we solved aptitude regarding Palm Oil. After this, we headed for the beginning spot i.e. Ardor2.1.  Here we did blindfold food tasting in which one of the main ingredients was Palm Oil

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The session was a great learning place & it really cleared out various misleading information against the usage of Palm Oil.

Environmental pollution is one of the biggest challenges the mankind is facing these days. The most threatening for us is the air pollution. It takes due to the cars we drive, factories we run and reducing greenery around us. Nothing of these can go in a jiffy and we need all these to sustain life. The problem we face because of these effects is the problem of depletion of clean air to breath. Isn't it the most dreadful fear we all have that we have no more oxygen to breath in?

I know you guys must be as alarmed as I am. I started stumbling on solution, nose masks, staying mostly indoor and what not. All these are just not practical in the wider scheme of things. Finally I was advised by my Doctor to try MyOxy Oxygen Cans.

What is MyOxy?

MyOxy has launched personal oxygen cans in India. An ideal option to breath fresh oxygen when you need it the most. The portable personal oxygen cans are designed in such a way that it can be stored at room temperature. MyOxy is an OXYGEN I.P which is portable and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This fresh canned oxygen strictly follows the Indian pharma standards and is available in all leading pharmacy PAN India.

The MyOxy can is 5.9 litters at 1200 kilopascal and comes in a disposable aluminium can.  MyOxy is priced at INR 399 each can. A suitable option for all age, it can be used by the child, expecting mothers and even senior citizens. MyOxy is a reliable option to boost the oxygen level in the body instantly. It can be used in the case of the loss of breath, air pollution, high altitude, intense workout, stress etc.

Where MyOxy can be utilised??

High Altitude

While climbing mountain peak and high altitude many people become breathless due to lack of oxygen. It can lead to nausea, dizziness, fatigue, dehydration and sometimes headache, MyOxy cans are designed in such a way that it can be carried while you are travelling. A needful item which all mountaineers, hikers should carry with them. It can also be used by the Défense folks who are posted in mountains and high-altitude location in India like Kargil, Nathulapass, Leh, Amarnath etc.

First Aid Kit

MyOxy is the most essential part of first aid box, it is highly needed during the emergency situation when oxygen drops. It provides instant oxygen during a high-intensity workout, air traveling, religious training, respiratory issues. While preparing a first aid kit, don’t forget to include the portable MyOxy can.

Air Pollution

The cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai are highly polluted, the level of air pollution is extremely high and when you breathe in this polluted air, it can cause severe lung and respiratory issues. Hence, if you are part of these cities you must carry MyOxy can to rule out such scenarios, it provides instant relief from respiratory difficulties when the air pollution level is high.

The MyOxy can is a product of Gupta Oxygen Pvt. Ltd, they are the leaders when it comes to industrial, Medical and Refrigeration gases with 50 years of industrial experience, they have always come up with innovative, portable and safe options for everyone.