By ANDALIB AKHTER
The union cabinet today approved an investment of Rs 10,900 crore in the food processing industry under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The objective of Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) is to support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets.
According the government the Scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27. The scheme would facilitate expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27. This was announced in New Delhi by the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal after the cabinet meeting.
Briefing media Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the decision will help in increasing farmers’ income and opening better avenues for them. Hailing the new farm laws, Mr Goyal said the new provisions are optional and will help farmers increase their income. Mr Goyal asserted PLI of 10,900 crores to the Food processing industry will help create more employment, build sustainable value chain and help create a robust brand value of Indian products. He said, a wide range of consultation with various stakeholders was carried out by the Ministry of Food Processing for over eight nine months before finalising the PLI scheme.
The minister said that the scheme will be implemented in the next six years, and its first component incentivises manufacturing of four major food product segments viz. Ready to Cook, Ready to Eat foods, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese. The second component relates to support for branding and marketing abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands.