INDIA – The government of India through the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has approved the implementation of 28 food processing projects worth over ₹320.33 crore (about US$43 million).

According to a statement from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), the projects are spread over 10 states and are likely to generate employment for nearly 10,000 people.

Participating states include Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, J&K, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Manipur.

According to Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister, FPI, the projects were approved under the Creation/Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC Scheme).

Through this scheme, the government was also able to support the projects with a grant of Rs. 107.42 Crore (about US$23 million).

The Ministry of FPI further revealed that six projects of north eastern states with project costs of Rs. 48.87 crore (about US$5.6 million) will be supported with a grant of Rs. 20.35 crore (about US$2.7 million).

According to the MoFPI, CEFPPC Scheme is an Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) which aims at creating new processing and preservation capacities while at the same time expanding/ modernizing existing food processing Unites.

MoFPI says that this will in the long run help in increasing the level of processing, value addition and thereby lead to a reduction of wastage and enhancement of farmers’ income.

Some of the eligible sectors include Fruits & vegetable processing, Milk Processing, Meat and poultry processing, Ready to Eat foods, Grain processing and any other sector that makes food fit for human consumption.

According to the MoFPI, the projects will be implemented through organizations such as Central & State PSUs, Joint Ventures, Farmer Producers Organization (FPOs)/ NGOs/ Cooperatives, Pvt. Ltd companies, and individual’s proprietorship firms engaged in establishment, upgradation, and modernization of food processing units.

Ministry officials project that upon successful completion, the 28 projects will create a processing capacity of 1237 MT daily.

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