The Centre is planning to allow state governments to implement some of the food processing schemes.
Speaking at the IndPack-2011 here, ministry of food processing industries secretary Rakesh Kacker said, it was getting difficult for the Union ministry to track and implement all the schemes and programmes. "So, we are proposing to involve state governments in some of the schemes."
Except for large schemes including mega food parks and food chains, other programmes like technology upgradation and human resources activities are to be taken up by the state governments. The proposal is in discussion stage, and would be finalised by next year, in the 12th Five Year Plan, he said.
The ministry has also identified three major sectors - promotion of cold chains, building infrastructure and skill upgradation - to focus during the next plan, along with encouraging states to develop their own food processing policies
It has approved 49 cold chain projects worth Rs 360 crore. Eight of these have already been completed, and the remaining would be ready in the next two years, he said.
Mega food parks
The ministry has also approved 30 mega food parks , of which it has identified land and set finance for 15 projects. The rest may come up in the next two years. The central government has provided Rs 50 crore assistance for each park.
Stating that the spending on the food processing sector had increased to Rs 500 crore this year from Rs 400 crore last year, he said they expected this to rise to Rs 600 crore next year.
Another major factor for the food processing industry is packaging. Currently, 48 per cent of the packaging industry is devoted to food products. "We expect to grow 50 per cent in food processing industry and 20 per cent in packaging industry during the 12th Five Year Plan," he added.
On the impact of FDI in retail food processing, Kacker said, “The FDI in retail industry will have a positive impact on the packaging and food processing industry.”
