Krishi India 2018 Expo/ Wellness India 2018 Expo takes off in New Delhi today
Team L&M
With Transformational Experience as the punchline, the Ministry of Tourism’s recent ad film Yogi of the Racetrack, which has record breaking 75 million views, does justice to the depth of experiences that India offers.
“Through five 60 seconds ads, the Ministry of Tourism is promoting a new perception and better understanding of yoga as a holistic way of life to attract more health-conscious, high-end travellers deeper into India. The ads, which feature millennials, show the effect of yoga and its techniques and how it can be related to even the toughest race positions,” shared Union Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons.
The Union Minister was speaking at the inaugural session of Krishi India 2018 Expo/ Wellness India 2018. He also spoke about India being the country of wellness with Kerala being the heart of the wellness tourism industry, owing to numerous wellness retreats offering a combination of Ayurveda, yoga and other Indian systems of medicines. “The healing powers (of traditional Indian systems of medicines) don’t depend on chemicals. It rather depends on the earth. The products that heal us are actually Ayurvedic,” he said.
Alphons, who has been in Kerala for the last one week, made an urgent appeal for donations to help the people of the flood-battered state. “Nature’s fury has struck Kerala and the wellness hotspot is devastated, with one million people living in relief camps.”
That Indian agriculture is cereal-centric ie production of wheat and rice production is preferred over oilseeds and pulses was a recurring theme during the session on Farming and Agriculture: An Overall Perspective. Observing how the country’s cereal-centric (limited to wheat and rice) food security approach harmed interests of farmers.
Dr Ramesh Chand, member, NITI Aayog, said, “The per capita consumption of cereals has remained more or less the same for about 50 years though per capita consumption of edible oils, for instance, has grown by 300 per cent since 1992-93. However, India has not taken advantage of this growth and 70 per cent of our edible oil demand is still met by imports.”
He also pointed out that exporting water guzzling crops like paddy was not in the interest of the nation or its farmers. “We should aim to get more productivity from less resource if we want to double farm income by 2022.” The session also witnessed discussions around private sector investment in supply chain infrastructure and services that would lead to a reduction in waste and more added value.
