Lok Sabha Question No. 3366 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: Global Hub for Food Processing
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Shri Pradyut Bordoloi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3366

ANSWERED ON 12 TH  MARCH, 2026

## GLOBAL HUB FOR FOOD PROCESSING

## 3366. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

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

(a) the details regarding the long term strategy to position India as a global hub for food processing and food ingredients beyond Financial Year 2026 targets;

(b) the steps taken by the Government to support sustainable packaging, eco-friendly processing technologies and green supply chains in the food processing sector;

(c)  the  details  regarding  performance  of  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Formalisation  of  Micro  Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, State-wise;

(d) the number of employees working under such enterprises and the profits achieved during the Financial Year 2024-25;

(e)  the  number  of  jobs  created  so  far  in  the  food  processing  sector  as  a  result  of  Government schemes; and

(f)  whether the North Eastern Region is lagging behind in terms of food processing, if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for the same and the measures taken by the Government to improve the state of food processing in the region and deal with the challenges faced therein?

## ANSWER

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

(a): In order to promote and ensure overall development of Food Processing Industries, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been incentivizing setting up/ expansion of related infrastructure,  through  its  two  Central  Sector  Scheme  viz.  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and a Centrally sponsored PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme across the country. These schemes are not region or state specific but demand driven.in nature.

(b): MoFPI supports use of renewable source of energy viz. Solar, Bio-mass, Wind, etc. in the schemes and provides financial assistance for incorporating renewable/alternate energy technologies in food processing units, with a maximum permissible cost of ₹35 lakh per project under component schemes of PMKSY. Under component schemes of PMKSY, consent to operate

(CTO)  issued  by  the  concerned  state  Pollution  board/Agency  in  respect  of  Water  and  Air,  is mandatory  for  release  of  Grant-In-Aid/Subsidy  to  the  approved  projects.  Further,  Project Implementation Agency (PIA) has to comply with the requirements of Cold Chain infrastructure as per the directions of Ministry of Environment, Forest &  Climate Change, Government of India with respect to use of Non-ODS (Non- Ozone Depleting Substances) and low GWP (Low Global Warming Potential) refrigerants-based energy efficient cooling systems.

Further, to encourage sustainable food processing through adoption of green technologies, one of the focus pillar was 'Sustainable and Net Zero in Food Processing, in the 4 th edition of World Food India 2025, organized by MoFPI during 25-28 September, 2025 in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. It aimed  to  promote  resource  efficiency, waste  reduction, energy  efficiency  and environmentally friendly packaging solutions across the sector.

National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship & Management -Thanjavur under MoFPI  has  made  efforts  to  promote  and  develop  sustainable  packaging  technology  through development of biodegradable plastics, safe and environment friendly packaging solutions from biopolymers such as poly lactic acid (PLA), starch, nano fibres etc.

(c) to (e): Under PMFME Scheme, Loans for 1,72,707 micro food processing enterprises with approved subsidy of Rs. 5009.61 crore and Seed capital for 3,76,326 Self Help Group members have  been  sanctioned.  76  proposals  for  Incubation  centres  and  25  proposals  for  Branding  & Marketing have been approved. The State-wise details are at Annexure .

As  on  31.12.2025,  5.18  lakh  direct  and  indirect  employment opportunities have  been generated under PMFME scheme, out of which 1.52 lakh direct and indirect employment has been generated in FY 2024-25 across the country. Data regarding profits achieved by these enterprises is not maintained at MoFPI level.

Further, as on 31.12.2025, 4.69 lakh direct/ indirect employment opportunities have been generated  from  the  operational  projects  under  component  schemes  of  PMKSY  and  3.29  lakh direct/ indirect employment opportunities has been generated under PLISFPI across the country.

(f): In order to ensure overall development of Food Processing Sector and to help it face various challenges, MoFPI is implementing PMKSY Scheme, PLISFPI and PMFME scheme across the country including North Eastern Region (NER). Further, in order to encourage entrepreneurs in the food processing sector from NER, the following preferential provisions have been made in component scheme guidelines of PMKSY-

- (i) Net Worth requirement reduced to amount equal to grant sought, in comparison to 1.5 times for general areas;
- (ii) Term Loan requirement reduced to 10% of eligible project cost, in comparison to 20% for general areas;
- (iii) Equity requirement reduced to 10%of eligible project cost, in comparison to 20% for general areas;
- (iv) Quantum of grant at enhanced level of 50% of eligible project cost, in comparison to 35% for general areas (Subject to the maximum ceiling under respective sub-schemes);
- (v) Requirement of minimum project cost reduced to Rupees One Crore, in comparison to rupees  Three  Crores in  for  general  areas  in  case  of  Creation  /  Expansion  of  Food Processing & Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) Scheme projects [for other schemes, no such criteria is fixed]

Further, under PMKSY & PMFME Scheme, 10% of the budget allocation, is earmarked for NER.

One District One Product (ODOP) approach under PMFME Scheme has been adopted to reap the benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products.  It  provides  the  framework  for  value  chain  development  and  alignment  of  support infrastructure. The ODOP are identified by States / UTs based on the agriculture production, raw material availability, perishability of the product etc.  All districts of the North Eastern Region (NER) have been covered under the ODOP approach, with each district identifying one product based on its local strengths for focused support and value addition under the PMFME Scheme .

All these schemes are implemented across the country and aim towards creation of modern infrastructure  with  efficient  supply  chain  management  from  farm  gate  to  retail  outlet  which includes storage, transportation, creation of market linkages etc., thereby help in reducing postharvest  losses  and  facilitating  enhance  farmer  incomes  and  creating  off-farm  employment opportunities.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3366 FOR ANSWER ON 12 TH  MARCH, 2026 REGARDING 'GLOBAL HUB FOR FOOD PROCESSING'

## Performance of PMFME Scheme

|   S.No . | State/UT                                 |   Number of Micro Food Processin g Sanctione d (Nos.) |   Approve d Subsidy of Micro Food Processin g (Rs in cr.) |   Number of Self Help Group (SHG) members sanctione d |   Amount Sanctione d to SHG members (Rs in Cr.) |   Number of Approved Incubatio n Centre |   Approved Grant in Aid of Incubatio n Centre (Rs in cr.) |   Number of Approve d Branding & Marketin g Projects |   Approve d Grant in Aid of Branding & Marketin g Projects (Rs in cr.) |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andaman And Nicobar Islands              |                                                    18 |                                                      1.03 |                                                   110 |                                            0.42 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh                           |                                                  8651 |                                                    137.81 |                                                 36926 |                                          139.88 |                                       2 |                                                      6.11 |                                                    2 |                                                                   0.78 |
|        3 | Arunachal Pradesh                        |                                                   149 |                                                      9.26 |                                                  2524 |                                            6.56 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        4 | Assam                                    |                                                  5194 |                                                     58.97 |                                                 33454 |                                          100.43 |                                       1 |                                                      2.75 |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        5 | Bihar                                    |                                                 28648 |                                                    660.88 |                                                 24254 |                                           86.3  |                                       2 |                                                      4.81 |                                                    1 |                                                                   0.59 |
|        6 | Chandigarh                               |                                                     5 |                                                      0.21 |                                                     0 |                                            0    |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        7 | Chhattisgarh                             |                                                  1442 |                                                     62.49 |                                                 10914 |                                           14.13 |                                       2 |                                                      5.5  |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        8 | Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu |                                                    12 |                                                      0.42 |                                                    13 |                                            0.02 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|        9 | Delhi                                    |                                                   378 |                                                      8.98 |                                                     0 |                                            0    |                                       2 |                                                      4.67 |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       10 | Goa                                      |                                                   141 |                                                      5.4  |                                                  2077 |                                            7.77 |                                       1 |                                                      2.03 |                                                    1 |                                                                   1.04 |
|       11 | Gujarat                                  |                                                  1217 |                                                     78.26 |                                                  7185 |                                           18.39 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       12 | Haryana                                  |                                                  1737 |                                                    110.76 |                                                  1675 |                                            6.1  |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    1 |                                                                   2.71 |
|       13 | Himachal Pradesh                         |                                                  2628 |                                                     63.57 |                                                 15602 |                                           58.67 |                                       3 |                                                      8.84 |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       14 | Jammu And Kashmir                        |                                                  2121 |                                                     43.2  |                                                  1114 |                                            3.97 |                                       3 |                                                      7.8  |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       15 | Jharkhand                                |                                                  4665 |                                                     94.82 |                                                  6158 |                                           20.72 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    3 |                                                                   2.48 |
|       16 | Karnataka                                |                                                  8402 |                                                    315.18 |                                                 19054 |                                           74.91 |                                      14 |                                                     32.17 |                                                    5 |                                                                   5.3  |
|       17 | Kerala                                   |                                                  8478 |                                                    221.96 |                                                  6802 |                                           21.49 |                                       1 |                                                      2.75 |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       18 | Ladakh                                   |                                                    96 |                                                      4.58 |                                                   412 |                                            1.15 |                                       2 |                                                      5.5  |                                                    2 |                                                                   0.82 |
|       19 | Madhya Pradesh                           |                                                 13221 |                                                    442.85 |                                                 13733 |                                           43.46 |                                       3 |                                                      9.88 |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |
|       20 | Maharashtra                              |                                                 27360 |                                                    810.63 |                                                 53857 |                                          192.67 |                                       3 |                                                      7.27 |                                                    4 |                                                                   4.53 |
|       21 | Manipur                                  |                                                   310 |                                                     21.69 |                                                   421 |                                            1.52 |                                       0 |                                                      0    |                                                    0 |                                                                   0    |

| 22   | Meghalaya     |    237 |    4.07 |   4285 |   13.06 |   1 |   2.75 |   0 |   0.00 |
|------|---------------|--------|---------|--------|---------|-----|--------|-----|--------|
| 23   | Mizoram       |     67 |    2.56 |   2641 |   10.11 |   1 |   2.75 |   0 |   0    |
| 24   | Nagaland      |    440 |    7.84 |   3797 |    6.9  |   1 |   2.43 |   0 |   0    |
| 25   | Odisha        |   3075 |   91.35 |  31195 |   93.05 |   1 |   1.85 |   0 |   0    |
| 26   | Puducherry    |    203 |    4.52 |   1986 |    7.68 |   0 |   0    |   1 |   1.58 |
| 27   | Punjab        |   3108 |  266.83 |   1404 |    4.36 |   1 |   3.45 |   2 |   4.33 |
| 28   | Rajasthan     |   1444 |   85.11 |   7857 |   27.03 |   8 |  23.11 |   0 |   0    |
| 29   | Sikkim        |     66 |    1.78 |   1275 |    5.07 |   2 |   4.92 |   2 |   1.86 |
| 30   | Tamil Nadu    |  17869 |  410.2  |  31174 |  119.37 |   4 |   8.78 |   1 |   0.15 |
| 31   | Telangana     |   7345 |  106.23 |  24502 |   95.92 |   3 |   8.43 |   0 |   0    |
| 32   | Tripura       |    286 |    7.05 |   4278 |   16.26 |   1 |   2.65 |   0 |   0    |
| 33   | Uttar Pradesh |  22060 |  803.3  |   8511 |   25.97 |  14 |  46.91 |   0 |   0    |
| 34   | Uttarakhand   |   1087 |   33.49 |   9349 |   31.27 |   0 |   0    |   0 |   0    |
| 35   | West Bengal   |    547 |   32.39 |   7787 |   28.37 |   0 |   0    |   0 |   0    |
|      | Total         | 172707 | 5009.67 | 376326 | 1282.99 |  76 | 208.11 |  25 |  26.17 |

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