Context:

The Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) is planning to increase exports of Indian spirits to major foreign destinations as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

More on the News

• With the global demand for Indian spirits growing at a healthy rate, the APEDA is planning to promote both Indian alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages globally with a target of $1 billion in export revenue over the next few years. 
• India currently ranks 40th in the world for alcoholic beverage exports with over $260 million in 2023-24.
• As part of this process, Diageo India (United Spirits Ltd.) is set to launch ‘Godawan’ single-malt whisky in the United Kingdom as an artisanal single-malt whisky made in Rajasthan, India.
• Earlier, Godawan single-malt whisky had participated in the International Food and Drinks Event (IFE), London in March 2024 under the ambit of APEDA. This worked as a precursor to launching Godawan in the UK and commencing exports to the UK. 
• IFE is the UK's largest and most successful product-sourcing platform.

Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA)

• APEDA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. 
• It was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985 and replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC). 
• APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of scheduled products under the APEDA Act.
• Under the APEDA Act, "Schedule 1" lists all the agricultural and processed food products that APEDA is primarily responsible for promoting exports of, while "Schedule 2" specifically includes only "Basmati Rice" as a special product requiring additional monitoring and regulation by APEDA. 

Functions: 

• APEDA promotes exports by developing markets, improving infrastructure, and enhancing quality. 
• It also provides financial assistance to registered exporters through its Agriculture Export Promotion Scheme.
• APEDA also functions as the Secretariat to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for the implementation of accreditation of the Certification Bodies under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) for Organic exports.