Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal chaired the Curtain Raiser Press Conference held here today for the World Food India 2017 expo, a vibrant three-day business platform scheduled from 3^rd-5^th November, 2017 in New Delhi. As India gets ready to host its biggest food event aiming to transform the food economy and double farmers’ income, Smt. Badal gave a glimpse of the grandeur and the immensity of the event to industry leaders, heads of foreign missions and media in an interactive session. Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti also graced the occasion with her presence.

 Outlining her vision for World Food India 2017, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “India is the second largest producer of food, leader in milk, fruits & vegetables, cereals and marine. It has a huge potential with 127 agro climatic zones and proximity to food importing nations. With a 1.3 billion population, and a retail sector that is set to treble by 2020, it offers a large demand driven market.” She affirmed that the Government of India is creating the right infrastructure - with schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, an enabling environment and an innovation culture to foster strategic partnerships in the food processing industry to create an advantage to all the stakeholders. World Food India 2017 provides that platform for global partnerships to achieve the said goal.

 Thanking Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi for his vision and leadership, Smt Badal said the government is making all efforts to ensure food safety and security across the country. The Minister added that the event which will showcase the best infrastructure and technology from various countries will also help find effective solution to the challenges facing the food industry in India, ranging from food wastage to wastage of crops due to extreme climatic conditions. This, Smt Badal added will help in minimizing the challenges faced by the farmers of the country due to the environment factors and lack of direct contact with the market.

 Smt. Badal also said that the potential of India in the food processing industry will be realized during this event. With World Food India 2017, the Minister said, India is poised to attract an investment target of roughly US$ 10 billion in food processing sector, which will generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years. She added that the World Food India platform will reinvigorate India’s position as a ‘Global Food Factory’ and a ‘Global Sourcing Hub’.

 Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, elaborating on the efforts taken to organize this grand event, expressed confidence in India’s food sector and the opportunity that it presents to the world. She added that this event would give recognition to India in the Food Processing sector globally and would reduce food wastage, increase food security and aid in generating employment as it would attract youth towards the sector.

 Shri JP Meena Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries said this event will be one of the 1^stInternational Mega Events to attract investment & trading in the Food Processing Sector in India. The event will showcase an exhibition and include special sessions, conferences and networking opportunities for the participants. More than 800 global & domestic exhibitors will be a part of the exhibition that will have a separate organic pavilion apart from special sections on cold chain, sectors. Another highlight is the section for Women Entrepreneurs in the food processing industry.

 In a nutshell, the World Food India 2017 gears up to host over 2,000 participants, over 200 companies from 30 countries, 18 ministerial and business delegations, nearly 50 global CEOs along with CEOs of all leading domestic food processing companies, and representatives of 28 States in India, Shri Meena added.

 Germany, Japan and Denmark are Partner Countries to World Food India whereas Italy & Netherlands are Focus Countries. They were represented by H.E Mr Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India; H.E Mr Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Ambassador of Denmark to India; H.E Mr Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India; H.E. Lorenzo Angeloni, Ambassador of Italy to India who expressed keenness to deepen their investment commitment to India, to enable mutual exchange of best practices, technology and to be a part of the revolution in the food processing industry which will take place in India.

 CEOs and senior executives of leading Indian and global food chains including ITC, Walmart, Nestle, Kelloggs and Metro Cash & Carry India etc. present at the Curtain Raiser reinforced their commitment to wholeheartedly participate at the event and making it a success. It was unanimously observed that with one-sixth of World’s population and a vast pool of resources, India shoulders the responsibility to become the Global Food Value Chain Hub and the private industry players have an important part to play in this endeavor.

 Referring to the softer aspects of food, Smt. Badal remarked, “With World Food India, we are inviting the World to come and refresh their experiences of Indian food, spices, ingredients and cuisines.” Curated by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the ‘Food Street’ is set to be World food India’s most attractive highlight.  A brainchild of Smt. Badal, Food Street is an experiential platform that will bring together culinary practices, flavours, fragrances from the world's cuisines, and celebrate India's rich cultural heritage and diverse uniqueness of its produce to create contemporary renditions and fusion food. Addressing the event, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the brand ambassador and curator of Food Street said the secrets of the rich traditional Indian cuisines will be showcased during the event. This event will project India as the land of ‘Chhat-ras’ or the six flavours found in our cultural heritage, he added.

 The Curtain raiser session coincided with the celebration of World Food Day, wherein Smt. Badal pledged to wage a war against food wastage with #NoWasteOnMyPlate campaign. The campaign lends itself to the strategic intervention that World Food India 2017 will provide in achieving two most critical goals of the Government - doubling farmers’ income by 2022 and reducing post-harvest losses by bringing together global and Indian leaders to collaborate and co-develop solutions across India’s food value chain.

 The event is supported by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Development of North East Region, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation.

 

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