As per an approximation, India’s present food processing industry is anticipated at USD 130 Billion and projected to draw huge domestic and foreign investment. To take advantage of some essential factors for the development of food processing sector, Indian Government has been initiated few measures. Let’s glance on those schemes.
Schemes Related to Food Processing Sector in India:
- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana is a complete package which will result in the production of the latest infrastructure with successful supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet
It will not only offer an immense boost to the development of food processing sector in the nation, but also assist in giving better process to agriculturists and is a huge step for maximizing the income of farmers, diminishing agricultural product wastage, enhancing the processing level and boosting the export of the processed food items
- Mega Food Parks
The Mega food Parks scheme intends at a mechanism to connect agricultural production to the market by carrying together agriculturists, processors, and retailers, so as to guarantee to maximize value addition, decreasing wastage, increasing the income of farmers and generating job opportunities, specifically in the rural sector.
The Mega Food Park Scheme is relied on the approach of “Cluster” and visualizes the formation of the state of art support infrastructure in a well stated agricultural zone for establishing modern food processing units along with well set up the supply chain.
Mega food park typically comprises of supply chain infrastructure comprising collection centers, basic processing centers, central processing centers, cold chain and about 30-35 fully extended plots for entrepreneurs to set up food processing systems.
The Mega Food Park scheme is performed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate listed under the Companies Act. Still, State Government, State Government entities and Cooperatives are not needed to make a separate SPV for execution of the Mega Food Park project. Directed to the satisfaction of the provisions of the Scheme Guidelines, the funds are delivered to the SPVs.
So far Nine Mega Food Parks, specifically, Patanjali Food and Herbal Park, Chittoor, North East Mega Food Park, Haridwar, Srini Food Park, Nalbari, International Mega Food Park, Integrated Food Park, Tumkur, Fazilka, Jharkhand Mega Food Park, Indus Mega Food Park,Ranchi, Khargoan, Murshidabad, Jangipur Bengal Mega Food Park and MITS Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd, Rayagada are practical.
- Integrated Cold Chains and Value Addition Infrastructure
The aim of the Scheme of Cold Chain, Value Addition Infrastructure is to produce integrated cold chain and preservation, infrastructure facilities, without any break, from the farm gate to the customer.
It includes pre-cooling plants at production sites, reefer vans, mobile cooling units as well as value addition centers which comprise infrastructural facilities like Processing/ Multi-line Processing/ Collection Centers, etc. for horticulture, poultry,organic produce, dairy, meat, marine, and so on
- Schemes for Creation/Expansion of Food Processing/Processing Facilities
The key purpose of the scheme is the generation of processing and preservation measures and industrializations of existing food processing components with a sense to boosting the phase of processing, value addition driving to wastage reduction
The establishing of new units and modernization/ extension of extant units is included under the scheme. The processing units undertake a broad range of processing activities depending on the processing sectors which results in value addition and/ or improving the shelf life of the processed products.
- Agro Processing Clusters:
The scheme points at the expansion of modern infrastructure and common facilities to support a group of entrepreneurs to set up food processing assemblies based on the cluster access. Under the scheme, efficient backward and forward linkages are created by linking groups of producers/ farmers to the processors and businesses through well-equipped supply chain consisting of modern infrastructure for food processing closer to manufacturing sectors and procurement of integrated/ comprehensive preservation infrastructure amenities from the farm gate to the customer.
Each cluster has two primary elements, i.e. Fundamental Empowering Infrastructure such as water supply, road transportation system, ETP, Drainage facilities etc and at least 5 food processing units with a minimum investment of Rs. 25 crore. The units establish concurrent along with the generation of common infrastructure
The Project Execution Agency (PEA) which is accountable for the overall execution of the projects volunteers several activities comprising the creation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), procurement or buying of land, managing finance, building infrastructure, guaranteeing external infrastructure linkages for the project, etc.
- Scheme for Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages
The objective of the scheme is to provide effective and seamless backward and forward integration for the processed food industry by plugging the gaps in the supply chain in terms of availability of raw material and linkages with the market. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for setting up of primary processing centers/ collection centers at farm gate and modern retail outlets at the front end along with connectivity through insulated/ refrigerated transport.
The Scheme is applicable to perishable horticulture and non-horticulture, produce such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, Ready to Cook Food Products, Honey, Coconut, Spices, Mushroom, Retails Shops for Perishable Food Products, etc.
The Scheme would enable linking of farmers to processors and the market for ensuring remunerative prices for Agri produce.
- Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure
Quality and Food Safety have become a competitive edge in the global market for food products. For the all-round development of the food processing sector in the country, various aspects of Total Quality Management (TQM) such as quality control, quality system, and quality assurance should operate in a horizontal fashion.
Apart from this, in the interest of consumer safety and public health, there is a need to ensure that the quality food products manufactured and sold in the market meet the stringent parameters prescribed by the food safety regulator.
- National Mission on food processing:
Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) performed a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) on 1st April 2012 for execution via States/UTs.
The NMFP envisions demonstration of a National Mission as well as similar Missions in the State and District level. The principal objectives of these schemes are as follows:
To increase the potential of food processors running to upscale their operations through capital infusion, technology substitution, skill up gradation and hand holding support.
- To promote self help groups operating in the food processing sector to enable them to gain SME status
- Skill upgradation and capacity growth via institutional training to guarantee sustainable job opportunities to the people and also to diminish the space in need and availability of talented man power in the food processing sector
- To uplift the values of food safety and regimen to the internationally accepted rules and regulations.
- To promote food processing industries to adopt HACCP and ISO certification norms.
- To expand farm gate infrastructure, supply chain logistics, storage, and processing capability.
- To implement a reliable support system to the organized the food processing sector