AMN /
Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal has said that all the 42-mega food parks sanctioned by the government will be fully operational within the next three years. She was speaking to media on the sidelines of the World Packaging Congress in Mumbai Friday.
Speaking about the food processing sector’s potential, Mrs Badal said the present government has brought freshness and thrust with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pro-actively promoting “Make in India”. She informed that several international delegations have inquired about possible collaboration.
She added that schemes including the 2,000 crore rupees corpus for cheaper loans through NABARD, subsidies to set up food parks, cold storages, abattoirs and 100 percent foreign direct investment in food processing are expected to boost the sector.
Mrs Badal said even though India is one of the largest producers of food globally, only 10 per cent of this food is processed. She said food processing could significantly reduce wastage, generate employment, offer better prices to farmers and help in reducing food inflation.