Lok Sabha Question No. 365 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-04
Subject: Challenges to Small Scale FPIs
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu

## 365. SHRI T.R. BAALU:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the small-scale food processing industry of the country is facing a major challenge due to inadequacy of infrastructure facilities to store raw materials, which lowers the quality and availability of the end products;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  for  implementation  of  computerized  inspection  of  quality  of agricultural  and  food  products,  as  these  are  presently  inspected  by  human  evaluators,  which  is  time consuming, labour intensive and prone to human error?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) & (b): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing a Central Sector Umbrella SchemePRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMPADA YOJANA (PMKSY) with the scheme components viz: (i) Mega Food Parks, (ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, (iii) Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, (iv)  Creation  of  Backward  and  Forward  Linkages  (v)  Creation  /  Expansion  of  Food  Processing  &  Preservation Capacities, (vi) Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure and (vii) Human Resources and Institutions for, inter alia, creation of modern infrastructure and efficient supply chain for facilitating preservation and processing of various  agricultural  produce.  The  schemes  of  Mega  Food  Parks  (MFP)  and  Infrastructure  for  Agro-processing Clusters  (APC) under PMKSY is designed to create common infrastructure facilities like storage including cold storage, ripening chamber, warehousing, food testing laboratories etc. for the food processing units, particularly small units that cannot create such facilities on their own requiring huge capital investment. There is also provision of MSME shed in the MFPs to enable the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to use the common facilities created in the MFPs for food processing activities.    The MoFPI provides credit-linked capital subsidy in the form of grants-in-aid  to  the  individuals,  farmers,  Farmer  Producer  Organisations  (FPOs),  Entrepreneurs,  Cooperatives, Societies, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Private Companies and Central/ State PSUs etc. for setting up of projects like MFPs and APCs for creation of common infrastructure for food processing units.

(c): The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare with the mandate for enforcement of food safety and standards regulations has informed that the provisions of Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006 do not apply to any farmers or fisherman or farming operations or crops or livestock or aquaculture, and supplies used or produced in farming or products of crops produced by farmers at farm level or a fisherman in his operations.

The inspection premise of the food business operators are carried out under FSS Act, 2006 to check the sanitary and  hygienic  requirements  as  prescribed  under  schedule  4  of  the  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Licensing  and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Food Safety Compliance through Regular Inspections and Sampling (FoSCoRIS), an IT based system (both web based and App) for inspections has been developed with standardised checklists based on kind of food businesses to assure greater transparency and ease of compliance. States/UTs have been requested to use FoSCoRIS for inspections.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 365

ANSWERED ON 04 TH  FEBRUARY, 2020

## CHALLENGES TO SMALL SCALE FPIs