28 March 2019: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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March 28^th 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

Blockchain Based Marketplace

Context:

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has launched blockchain based coffee e-marketplace.

Details:

• • It is a pilot project which will help integrate the farmers with markets in a transparent manner and lead to realisation of a fair price for the coffee producer.  
  • It will also reduce the number of layers between coffee growers and buyers and help farmers double their income.

• India is the only country in the world where entire coffee is grown under shade, handpicked and sun-dried.

• It produces one of the best coffees in the world, produced by small coffee growers, tribal farmers adjacent to National Parks and Wild Life Sanctuaries in the Western and Eastern Ghats, which are two of the major biodiversity hotspots in the world.
• Indian coffee is highly valued in the world market and sold as premium coffees. The share of farmers in the final returns from coffee is very meagre.
• Blockchain-based marketplace app for trading of Indian coffees is intended to bring in transparency in the trade of Indian coffee, maintain the traceability of Indian coffee from bean to cup so that the consumer tastes real Indian coffee and the grower is paid fairly for his coffee produced. This initiative will help in creating a brand image for Indian Coffee through traceability in reducing growers dependency on intermediaries by having a direct access to buyers for a fair price for their produce, in finding the right coffee suppliers for exporters and within the stipulated time to meet the growing demands and in building a better trust and long term relationship due to increased visibility towards the traceability and transparency of the produce.

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