New Delhi, Oct 6 (Inditop.com) The state governments need to play a catalytic role in the country’s food processing industry so that the small and unorganised players in this sector become competitive in the world market, according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“The food processing industry (in India) is fragmented and most of the players are small and unorganised,” Manmohan Singh said while inaugurating here Tuesday the 1st Conference of State Ministers of Food Processing Industries, organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
“This poses a special challenge to the development of the industry as a whole. The small-scale sector will require handholding to make them profitable and even competitive in the world market,” he added.
Stressing that the state governments need to play an active role in this regard, the prime minister said: “The state governments can play an important catalytic role in this effort in partnership with bankers, financial institutions and technical and management institutions. SME (small and medium enterprises) clusters could be identified for all-round upgrade by infusing new technology, new packaging methods and by providing marketing support.”
The prime minister also expressed satisfaction that a few states have already drawn up their own state-specific policies.
But, he added: “I would urge other states to do the same to supplement and support the efforts of the central government by removing some teething problems faced by the industry.”
Calling for the implementation of the amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in letter and spirit, Manmohan Singh called upon the states for the early implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST).
The GST is being implemented across the country to integrate all state economies and create a single, unified Indian market.
“The states should enforce food laws strictly by increasing the number of trained inspectors and lab facilities,” the prime minister said.
He urged the states to work in cohesion and seize the immense opportunities offered by the food processing industry.
“This is a sunrise industry and if we give it the importance it deserves, it has the potential to dramatically improve rural livelihood opportunities and employment to bridge the rural-urban divide and to improve farming methods and practices,” Manmohan Singh said.
In his remarks at the inaugural session, Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai called upon the states to formulate an investment-friendly policy for the food processing sector.
“The southern Indians states are aware of the potential of the food processing industry. The central and northern Indian states are also coming up in this sector,” he said.
“We need Rs.1 lakh crore (Rs.1,000 billion) investment for taking our (food) processing levels from 10 percent to 20 percent and then to 35 percent. So, it is imperative that all states have an investment friendly policy in place,” Sahai said.
