In a bid to bolster advancements and infusions of new technologies in Food Processing Industry, Government of India has turned more stern. Government recently approved a huge lumpsum of 10,900 Crore incentive/ subsidy under the Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The scheme is documented to be completed over Six year of time, starting from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
Commenting on the announcement Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said,”Today PLI (Product-Linked incentive) announced for food processing industry. Decision taken to ensure remunerative prices to increase & build India brand in food processing, increasing employment potential & making it global and manufacturing champion.”
Some major aims of the scheme are:-
Increasing the acceptance and visibility of Select Food brands worldwide.
Accruing good revenue to the farmers involved in the process.
Creating more Employment opportunities off-the-Farm.
Creating a support for Global food producers.
Increasing the production capacity of Food processing firms meeting surge in demand.
This step was taken under the Government of India’s ambitious project of PLI in 13 key sectors namely automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IT hardware including laptops, mobile phones & telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells and textiles, under which around a humongous total of 1.97 lakh crore is going to be disbursed to the listed sectors.
Announcing the Cabinet decision, minister for commerce, railways and food and public distribution Piyush Goyal said “the scheme for food processing would contribute to the government’s efforts to increase farmers’ incomes through better processing of agricultural produce and attract huge foreign investments in the high-potential sector.”
“Indian produce, processed through state of the art machinery, maintaining hygiene and meeting international standards, will have immense demand across the world,” Goyal said, adding processed food items from highly nutritious millets will have greater acceptance.
Furthermore, sea foods, fruits vegetables, mozarella cheese, poultry , eggs etc. are also included in under PLI scheme.
“Expansion of manufacturing in processed food sector will help reduce wastage, which is 20-30% in fruits and vegetables and 4% in foodgrains,” said Vijay Sardana, an expert in food policy.