Convergence between various schemes of the Ministries has been one of the key agendas, government is trying to pursue, so that resource utilization is optimized and benefits to the masses are maximized. 

With a view to provide financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) launched an all India “Centrally Sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) Scheme” to be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crores.

MoFPI and DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) agreed to work together on implementation of PM-FME to support Self Help Group (SHG) entrepreneurs in food processing.  Of all the components of the scheme, both Ministries decided to work closely on the component of providing seed capital support to SHG members. This involves working capital and purchase of small tools with the maximum permissible amount of support as Rs. 40,000/- per SHG member based on their existing business turnover and requirement. The concerned teams of both the Ministries at National level worked together in formalizing the operational framework for the scheme, the Guidelines, joint advisories, training and awareness campaigns etc. to facilitate the implementation of this component.

The State Rural Livelihood Missions in the States/UTs and the State Nodal Agencies appointed by MoFPI are executing the programme in close coordination. This involves identification of targeted eligible beneficiaries, capturing their aspirations & growth plans in the form of applications, digitize, review, recommend and approve them.  

During the FY 2020-21 a total 17427 beneficiaries were scrutinized and recommended for seed capital support of Rs. 51.85 cr. The States of Andhra, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Odisha and Telangana have been pioneer and contributed to over 83% of total beneficiaries and 80% of the total fund demand in these recommendations.

So far, an amount of 29.01 cr. has been approved towards the seed capital support for 10314 beneficiaries covering 6694 enterprises from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, HP, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh. The States are in process of releasing funds to respective SHGs and SHG members through the network of community organizations like Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) and Village Organizations (VOs). 

A robust system is also being developed for regular monitoring of the rural food processing enterprises operationalized by SHG members and supported under this scheme. This convergence has leveraged the strength of both the Ministries and is sure to empower rural women livelihoods in the critical sector of food processing.

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APS/MG/JK