Lok Sabha Question No. 3143 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-18
Subject: Challenges faced by PMFME Scheme
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Smt. D K Aruna

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3143

ANSWERED ON 18 TH  DECEMBER, 2025

## CHALLENGES FACED BY PMFME SCHEME

## 3143.  SMT. D K ARUNA:

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

- (a) the  challenges  identified  with  respect  to  credit  access,  skill  development,  market linkages and infrastructure utilisation during the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation  of  Micro  Food  Processing  Enterprises  (PMFME)  scheme  and  the measures being taken to address them;
- (b) the number of incubation centres presently operational under the above scheme and whether the Government proposes to establish additional centres to expand access to common facilities for micro food processing units and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Ministry has used any indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and capacity-building programmes and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  measures being taken based on such evaluation to  further improve training and capacity-building programmes; and
- (e) the future plans for strengthening incubation and support facilities under the PMFME scheme?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)

(a): The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in June, 2020 with the objective of assisting micro food processing enterprises in the country, which are largely in informal sector and typically suffer from lack of access to credit, technology upgradation, marketing linkages and capacity building. The scheme components have been designed in a way to address these challenges faced by micro food processing enterprises. Being a demand driven scheme, the biggest implementation challenge is to generate adequate number of complete applications by prospective entrepreneurs and their sanction by implementing Banks. Model Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for food processing projects have been prepared in consultation with National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEMs) and are placed on  the  scheme  portal  for  easy  access  by  all.  District  Resource  Persons  (DRPs)  have  been appointed in sufficient numbers in districts by State implementing Departments / Agencies to guide and handhold the applicants through the application process, which is entirely online and seamless. A  total  of  12  nationalized,  20  private  and  165  other  banks  are  partnering  in  the implementation  of  scheme  to  ensure  widest  access  to  public.  The  applicants  are  provided training under Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) through State Level Technical Institutes  (SLTIs)  and  a  pool  of  such  institutes  along  with  Master  Trainers,  District  Level

Trainers  and  Private  Training  Partners  has  been  created.  Apart  from  entrepreneurship development,  such  training  programs  help  the  applicants  in  proper  project  formulation increasing the chance of project sanction by Banks. One percent of budget is earmarked at State level  to  conduct  awareness  programs  about  the  publicity  of  scheme  through  appropriate medium of communication. Regular review meetings are held with State / UT Governments and participating Banks to improve the performance of the scheme.

(b): Under the PMFME Scheme, out of the 76 approved Incubation centers, 21 Incubation Centres are operational. In addition, support for creation of Common Facility Centre (CFC) is provided @ 35% of eligible project cost with maximum limit of Rs. 3 Crore to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs)  and its Federations/ Cooperatives/ Government Agencies to establish food processing line  along with  common infrastructure/ value chain/ incubation centre. Substantial capacity of the CFC is available for use by other units and public on hiring basis.

(c): The Scheme provides Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training for beneficiaries  engaged  in  micro  food  processing.  To  ensure  quality  and  uniformity,  Master Trainers  are  trained  by  the  National  Institute  of  Food  Technology  Entrepreneurship  and Management  (NIFTEM),  Kundli  and  NIFTEM,  Thanjavur,  and  are  certified  by  the  Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI). These Master Trainers, in turn, train districtlevel trainers, who are also certified by FICSI. Only certified trainers are permitted to deliver training under the Scheme.

At the State level, training programmes are organised and coordinated by State Level Technical Institutions (SLTIs), while monitoring of training delivery is undertaken by districtlevel  officers  appointed  by  the  State  Nodal  Agency  (SNA).  This  includes  verification  of training  conduct  and  internal  assessment  of  beneficiaries  to  assess  learning  outcomes  and training effectiveness. Further, all training-related information, including training modules and beneficiary attendance, is maintained on the dedicated online training portal, and participation certificates are generated digitally upon successful updation and validation of records.

(d): The  training  curriculum  is  developed  by  NIFTEM-Kundli  and  NIFTEM-Thanjavur with inputs from other national institutions to ensure quality and relevance. Based on feedback from States and other stakeholders, training content is continuously updated to reflect current requirements  and  emerging  technologies.  NIFTEM  also  conducts  national-level  online webinars on new food technologies and domain-specific subjects for micro food processing entrepreneurs across the country.

Till 31 st  October 2025, NIFTEMs have developed 779 ODOP training modules, along with 199 presentations, 192 videos, 190 DPRs, and 198 handbooks/course materials, to support continuous learning for beneficiaries.

(e): The  Scheme  aims  to  expand  incubation  facilities  in  high-demand  ODOP  clusters, subject to feasibility and proposals received from the State Governments. Further, the Scheme fosters collaborations with technical institutions, agricultural universities, and industry bodies to enhance technology transfer, product development, and testing services.

*****