New Delhi: Ministry of Food Processing inaugurated Organic Food Processing unit located in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh through video conference on Wednesday.
With the inauguration of this food processing unit, 5000 farmers will be benefitted and it is expected to leverage an investment of Rs 50.33 crores, said Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries.
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During the inauguration ceremony, Badal said that the food processing sector is witnessing robust growth and has been identified as a champion sector by the Government of India.
The diverse basket of agricultural raw material base and agro-climatic attributes of UP provide the requisite platform for the state to develop a vibrant food processing industry. Rameswar Teli, MoS, FPI, Pushpa Subrahmanyam, Secretary MoFPI and promoters of M/s Organic India were also present during the virtual inauguration.
Badal urged the promoters of the unit to experiment and invest further into new innovative products in the organic segment of the food processing sector. She appreciated the promoters for setting up a manufacturing plant in UP to export an array of tea products to about 30 countries.
She further said that with the promoters having obtained all necessary global certifications, their mission of making organic products of India globally famous, will be a boost to India’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Make in India campaign.
She added that the food processing sector offers a huge potential for Export of value-added items which will not only earn foreign exchange but will also create employment in the domestic market. She shared that the FDI data for 2019-2020 shows a whopping increase of 44% over 2018-19. She informed that the Food Processing Sector has grown at the AAGR of around 8.41%.
The unit namely M/s Organic India Pvt. Ltd is likely to generate direct employment of 100 and indirect employment of 250 persons. M/s Organic India Pvt. Ltd is set up with a total cost of Rs. 55.13 crores. Grant in aid of Rs 4.80 crores has been provided by the ministry.
Processing capacity of 3 MT per day has been created and the unit will process agro produce worth Rs 350 crores. Products manufactured in this unit are Tulsi green tea, sweet lemon green tea, lemon ginger green tea, pomegranate green tea, Sweet rose, Tulsi masala. It is spread over an area of 12,903 sq.m / 3.18 acres in Agro Park Phase-II, UPSIDC Industrial Area, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.
Highlighting the food processing potential in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister said that the diverse basket of agricultural raw material base and agro-climatic attributes of UP provide the requisite platform for the state to develop a vibrant food processing industry.
The food processing sector can become an important link between two main sectors of the state economy, agriculture and industry. She further said that this sector can address the major challenges in agriculture such as post-harvest losses, lack of marketing options & low income of farmers along with providing employment opportunities to the rural population, she added.
Speaking about the initiatives of MoFPI, Union Minister shared that in order to improve Ease of Doing Business, MOFPI has implemented an array of initiatives using IT tools. She said that all information about the schemes, important reports about the sector, investment-related information and options to apply under the relevant scheme online has been made available at MoFPI Website.
Badal urged all to “Click” and “Connect” with the Ministry and assured that their applications would be processed in a transparent and time-bound manner.
Addressing at the inauguration, Rameswar Teli MoS, Food Processing Industries, congratulated the promoters of the unit for setting up this food processing unit that would benefit the farmers and provide employment to the people of the region. He further said that this project would play a vital role in the development of the surrounding areas. He added that a robust food processing sector is essential for the development of agriculture, value addition and for promotion of exports.
Since 2014, Ministry has approved 51 projects in the state of Uttar Pradesh with a total project cost of Rs. 1109.30 crore, grants-in-aid of Rs.293.40 crore and private investment leveraged of Rs. 815.90 crore.
