Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today inaugurated four pilot plants and a food testing lab at the NIFTEM campus here in order to provide business incubation for entrepreneurs.
The new facilities at the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), set up with an investment of Rs 50 crore, can be utilised by both in-house students as well as entrepreneurs by paying fee which is yet to be fixed.
"The pilot plants are at par with industry level in terms of scale and standard. The purpose is to encourage more and more entrepreneurs who can be job providers," Badal told media after inaugurating the facilities.
The entrepreneur skills can be strengthened further by providing a platform for students to sell their processed food items under the "NIFTEM brand", she said.
"NIFTEM should think about setting up its own NIFTEM brand of processed foods that are healthier, fresh and cheaper. It can be sold at outlets, may be in Parliament, railway stations and other places," Badal noted.
NIFTEM brand can develop to a extent that it can take on FMCG firm Patanjali in many food items, she said.
According to NIFTEM, the pilot plants will offer modern facility to develop products and test production in four categories -- ready-to-eat and traditional food, milk and dairy product, fruits and vegetables and meat and poultry processing.
"Some fee will be charged for using pilot plants. There will be different rates. It will not be very expensive and at the same time not cheaper," NIFTEM Vice Chancellor Chindi Vasudevappa said.
The pilot plants will be self-sustaining as these would generate revenue from target user groups to meet operational expenses and would also recover capital investment in due course of time, he added.
About new food testing laboratory, the vice chancellor said the lab would not only serve as a centre for certification of food products but also for undertaking research and innovation for solving problems of the food industry and other stakeholders.
NIFTEM, set up in 2012, offers an integrated program on food technology and management education for developing a pool of professional managers with deeper understanding of the food and business to serve the processed food industry.
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