Govt aims to set up food processing facilities in far-off regions of country: Tomar

Food Processing Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said the government is targeting to build processing facilities in far-off regions of the country and sought industry's support for it. Tomar held a meeting with key stakeholders of food processing sector through a video conference.

He said the government aims to take food processing facilities to far-off regions of the country and urged the industry representatives to support the government in this initiative, according to an official statement. He held a consultation with industry leaders for making detailed guidelines for Product Linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which will help in enhancing manufacturing capability and exports from the country.

Tomar noted that the agriculture and rural sector is the backbone of the economy, and added that the farm sector was quite resilient during COVID-19 despite adversities. During the lockdown, relaxations were given by the government so that the food processing sector, pesticides industry, seed industry and rural economy as a whole continued to function smoothly, he added.

For 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', Tomar said the processing of local products needs to be focused upon. He emphasized on the need to boost food production and income of farmers.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) for this. Tomar said suggestions of industry leaders would be examined and necessary action would be taken.

Minister of State for Food Processing Rameswar Teli said the demand for frozen food, super foods, ready-to-eat foods has increased during COVID-19. During the meeting, various industry representatives from FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, PHDCCI, DICCI and others provided suggestions for development of food processing sector.