-KH News Desk(cbedit@imaws.org)
More than 1,02,515 loan applications have been received under the PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME) in India. The scheme, which aims to promote the setting up or upgrading of micro food processing units, has already sanctioned 25,774 loan applications, according to data shared by Pashupati Kumar Paras, the Minister of Food Processing Industries. The scheme is looking to support the establishment of 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises through credit-linked subsidy with a budget of INR 10,000 crore ($1.34 billion) for the five-year period from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
The scheme offers credit-linked subsidies to micro-food processing units and also has a capacity-building component to train individuals, workers of micro-food processing enterprises, and groups such as self-help groups, farmer-producer organizations, and cooperatives. The Ministry has conducted 25 training workshops and sessions for 486 master trainers and 76 sessions for 983 district-level trainers, among others.
The Ministry has also signed memorandums of understanding or joint letters with multiple government enterprises and departments to converge the PMFME scheme with other government schemes, such as the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR), the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The aim is to identify and handhold beneficiaries in capacity building, marketing, and increasing the outreach of the scheme.
The ministry also operates the Central Sector Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) Scheme. The PLISFPI aims to support the creation of global food manufacturing companies and is implemented over a six-year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27 with a budget of INR 10,900 crore ($1.46 billion).
Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel noted that all food and agro-processing activities have been made eligible for priority sector lending to facilitate easy and affordable credit to the sector. Additionally, a special fund of INR 2,000 crore ($268 million) has been set up in the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to support these enterprises.
