Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar called the industry players to take benefit of the government initiatives, including the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
“The government is committed to the development of the food processing sector. The government has taken several initiatives to harness the food and horticulture potential of the country,” an official statement quoted Tomar as saying at the northern region food processing summit organised by industry body CII.
The government has launched the PLI scheme for the food processing industry, under which j11,000 crore will be spent, he said.
Another scheme ‘Prime Minister formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) has been launched under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganised sector.
The scheme focuses on supporting groups engaged in agri-food processing such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and producer cooperatives across their value chain, he added.
Calling for cooperation to take the benefits of the government initiatives to all the farmers, Tomar said the government is working on these initiatives in a planned manner.
The minister also asked Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to conduct a comparative study on the available foodgrains and horticulture resources in the country with their processing level so that the Centre could devise a strategy to fill the gaps.
Speaking on the occasion, Additional Secretary in the Food Processing Industries Ministry Manoj Joshi emphasised the need for joint efforts by the government and industry in the area of fortification of processed food and meeting the changing consumer preferences.
Source: Livemint
