The Union government’s Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee has sanctioned eight food processing projects worth ₹220 crore for Tamil Nadu.
The projects, which would be implemented in eight districts, are likely to generate around 8,000 jobs and benefit 32,000 farmers, according to an official press release.
At a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Committee, headed by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, sanctioned a total of 10 projects worth ₹301.54 crore with grant-in-aid of ₹67.29 crore under the Agro Processing Cluster Scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
At the meeting, Tamil Nadu was represented by Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Commissioner of Agricultural Marketing and Agri-Business Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru. Of the cost of projects for the State, the central grant accounts for ₹48 crore and the State government’s unsecured loan ₹82 crore, with the remaining cost to be met through equity and loan. The unsecured loan may be converted into a grant at a later date, a State government official said.
The Union Minister expressed “satisfaction over proactive approach” of the Tamil Nadu government to the food processing sector through measures such as the formulation of policies on food processing and farmer producer organisations and the enactment of a law on contract farming.