Model Answer
0 min readIntroduction
The food processing sector is a crucial component of the Indian economy, contributing significantly to agricultural growth, employment generation, and export earnings. Despite its potential, the sector has historically faced challenges related to infrastructure, technology, and policy support. Recognizing this, the Government of India has launched several new initiatives in recent years to address these bottlenecks and unlock the sector’s full potential. These initiatives aim to reduce food wastage, enhance value addition, and improve the competitiveness of Indian food products in the global market.
Recent Government Initiatives
The government’s efforts to boost the food processing sector can be broadly categorized into infrastructure development, policy reforms, and financial assistance.
1. Infrastructure Development
- Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme (2020): This scheme provides financial assistance to micro food processing units for upgrading their infrastructure, improving technology, and enhancing marketing capabilities. It aims to formalize the unorganized food processing sector.
- Mega Food Parks: As of 2023, 22 Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned, with 10 operational. These parks provide common infrastructure facilities like cold storage, processing units, and transportation networks.
- Integrated Cold Chain and Controlled Atmosphere Storage Infrastructure: The government provides financial assistance for setting up cold chains to reduce post-harvest losses of perishable agricultural produce.
2. Policy Reforms
- New Central Sector Scheme for the Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME): This scheme aims to provide support to 2 lakh micro enterprises with credit linked subsidy.
- Amendment to the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006: Recent amendments aim to streamline food safety regulations and promote ease of doing business for food processing companies.
- National Food Processing Policy: While a comprehensive national policy is still under development, the government has been issuing notifications and guidelines to promote specific aspects of food processing.
3. Financial Assistance
- PLI Scheme for Food Processing Industry (2021): The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme provides financial incentives to companies for increasing their production of specific food products, encouraging investment and innovation. It covers sectors like processed fruits & vegetables, processed seafood, and mozzarella cheese.
- Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF): This fund provides medium- to long-term debt for post-harvest management and community farming assets, benefiting food processing units.
- Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE): This scheme facilitates access to credit for micro and small food processing enterprises by providing credit guarantees to lending institutions.
Challenges and Way Forward
Despite these initiatives, the food processing sector continues to face challenges such as inadequate cold chain infrastructure, high logistics costs, lack of skilled manpower, and complex regulatory procedures. Addressing these challenges requires a multi-pronged approach involving increased investment in infrastructure, simplification of regulations, skill development programs, and promotion of research and development.
| Initiative | Focus Area | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| PMFME Scheme | Micro Enterprises | Financial assistance, infrastructure upgrade, marketing support |
| Mega Food Parks | Infrastructure | Common facilities, reduced logistics costs, value addition |
| PLI Scheme | Production Incentives | Financial incentives for increased production, investment promotion |
Conclusion
The Government of India’s recent initiatives represent a significant step towards unlocking the potential of the food processing sector. While these initiatives address key challenges, sustained efforts are needed to improve infrastructure, streamline regulations, and promote innovation. A holistic approach, involving collaboration between the government, industry, and research institutions, is crucial for ensuring the long-term growth and competitiveness of the Indian food processing sector and achieving the goal of becoming a global food processing hub.
Answer Length
This is a comprehensive model answer for learning purposes and may exceed the word limit. In the exam, always adhere to the prescribed word count.