News in Shorts – 5 June 2024

FSSAI, APEDA develop Unified India Organic logo 

• FSSAI and APEDA have collaborated to introduce a new “Unified India Organic” logo, which will replace the current India Organic and Jaivik Bharat logos.

Unified India Organic Logo:

• Objective: To ensure consistency and alignment in the implementation of Indian regulations regarding organic products. 
  • The new logo will differentiate organic products from non-organic ones, indicating compliance with the National Standards for Organic Production.

Organic Product Certification:

• Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) : It ensures organic product quality without third-party certification, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• National Programme on Organic Production: APEDA oversees the National Programme on Organic Production (NPOP), regulating organic farming certification and promoting organic farming and marketing. 
• Other Initiatives for Organic Production: 
• • NMSA (National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture): Encourages sustainable agriculture practices, including organic production.
  • MOVCD-NER (Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region): Aims to develop organic value chains in the North East region of India.
  • PKVY (Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna): Fosters the growth of organic farming.

RBI, NPCI To Expand UPI In 20 Countries By FY 2028-29

• In its Annual Report for 2023-24, the RBI announced a partnership with NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) to extend the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to 20 countries (Nepal, UAE and France) by 2028-29.

Unified Payment Interface:

• About: UPI is a system that consolidates multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application, irrespective of the participating bank.
  • It combines various banking features, facilitating seamless fund routing and merchant payments under one platform.
• Introduction: Introduced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.
• Supported By: Now, many countries like Bhutan, Nepal, UAE, France, and Mauritius support it, allowing international UPI payments.
• UPI Apps: Today’s top UPI apps are PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and BHIM, the Government’s offering.