Potential of Food Processing Industry in MSME

Potential for setting up of micro and small enterprises / rural village industries in the country, which are agro-based, is huge given the fact that India is predominantly an agri-based economy as well as the fact that this potential has not been fully exploited.

For the holistic development of the economy, it is essential that the micro and small industries should co-exist with the big industries. However the micro and small industries need to be nurtured and are provided Government support in the form of financial assistance for Term loan, working capital, machinery and technology upgradation, quality and efficiency improvement, Intellectual Property Rights registration and credit rating. The Ministry of MSME has two schemes namely, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) which provides assistance for setting up of individual enterprises as well as cluster based enterprises in the non-farm sector. The Ministry has also recently launched A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE) which provides for setting up of incubation centres in agro-based industry for innovation and enterprise creation in micro and small scale industry including food processing. The Ministry of MSME is also assisting micro industries in selling their agro-based products like pappad, masala, jam, jelly, etc. by offering them support for sale of their products through sales outlets of Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Assistance is also offered for participation in domestic fares and international exhibitions for enabling the micro small and medium enterprises to market their products.

This information was given by the Minister of State, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha here today.