A.Creation of Infrastructure Facilities

• A total of 110 food processing projects were completed/operationalized viz; Mega Food Park:1, Cold Chain:37, Unit:68, Food Testing Laboratories:4
• The 110 completed projects havecreated additional processing and preservation capacity of agricultural produce of 14.84 lakh MT per annum. 37 cold chain infrastructure projects created additional milk processing and storage capacity of 16.58 lakh litre per day and 40.10 MT/hour of IQF (Instant Quick Freezing) of fruits and vegetables.
• The 110 completed projects leveraged private investment of Rs. 1441.32 crore and generated direct and indirect employment for 17398 persons.

B.Approval of New Infrastructure Facilities

• A total of 94 food processing projects were sanctioned viz; Agro Processing Clusters:19, Cold Chain:39, Unit:18, Operation Greens:1, Food Testing Laboratories:15 and Mega Food Park:2.
• The 94 new food processing projects sanctioned will create additional processing and preservation capacity of agricultural produce of 8.70 lakh MT per annum. The 39 cold chain infrastructure projects will create additional milk processing and storage capacity of 6.90 lakh litre per day and 40.05 MT/hour of IQF of fruits and vegetables.
• The new 94 sanctioned projects are expected to leverage private investment of Rs. 1286.42 crore and generate direct and indirect employment for 30766 persons.

C. Notification of NIFTEM Act 2021

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) Act 2021 was passed by Parliament in year 2021 to declare NIFTEM and IIFPT as Institutions of National Importance (INI). The NIFTEM Act 2021 came in force on 01.10.2021 The INI status will enable the institutes to have functional autonomy,premium branding of the institution,start new innovative courses,attract best faculties / students,adopt global standards in academics and R&D,have flexibility to have foreign collaborations, andopen new centers.

D.Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

1. Production Linked Incentive Scheme for the Food Processing Industries

As part of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s announcement of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Government, on 31^st March, 2021, approved a Central Sector Scheme, namely “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry” with an outlay of INR 10,900 crores to be implemented for a period of seven years from 2021-2022 to 2026-27.

The primary objectives of this scheme are to support creation of global food manufacturing champions; support Indian brands of food products in the international markets; increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs; and ensure remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.

Specific food product segments having high growth potential have been identified for providing support under the scheme. These include ready to cook/ready to eat (RTC/ RTE) foods including millet based products, processed fruits & vegetables, marine products and mozzarella cheese. Support to innovative and organic products of SMEsfor these product segments and overseas marketing &branding are also covered under the scheme.

The guidelines were issued on 2^nd May, 2021 and evoked a good response from the industry. A total of 274 applications were received, out of which 129 applicants have been selected. Out of this, 60 applicants were selected under Category-I, 12 applicants under Category-II and 57 applicants under Category-III.  Out of the 60 applicants selected under Category-I, 14 applicants were also given approval of incentives under Category-III.

The implementation of PLI scheme is likely to facilitate expansion of food processing capacity by nearly Rs. 30,000 crore and create additional direct and indirect employment opportunities for about 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27. The proposed investments of nearly INR 9,000 crore are likely to result in increase in sales of food products from INR 62,621 crore in FY 2019-20 (base year) to INR 1,80,276 crore in FY 2026-27. A positive stimulus to domestic industry is expected as the scheme stipulates that in order to get incentive, the entire chain of manufacturing processes, including primary processing of the food products shall take place in India. A positive impact on export sales will also be witnessed, with increase likely from about INR 13,500 crore in 2019-20 (base year) to about INR 57,000 crore in FY 2026-27.

2. PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME)

The Prime Minister- Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme, aimed at promoting ‘vocal for local’ in the sector, under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, was launched in June 2020 to support 2 lakh micro food processing units with credit linked subsidy with a total outlay of Rs.10,000 crore over the period 2020-2025.

The Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap the benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products.ODOP has been approved for 710 districts of 35 States/ UTs with 137 unique products.

Capacity Building & Training

• 760 training modules (ODOP) developed containing Presentations, Videos, DPR and Course Content/Handbook and are available on PMFME website - https://www.mofpi.gov.in/pmfme/
• 437 Master Trainers of 34 States/UTs were trained.
•  603 District Level Trainers of 26 States/UTs trained on Product Specific and EDP.
• 913 Beneficiaries trained in 13 States/ UTs.
• 931 District Resource Persons (DRPs) appointed in 528 Districts of 33 States/UTs were trained.

Management Information System (MIS)

PMFME website was launched on 25th January, 2021 along with On-line application for filing by individual applicants for credit linked subsidy for upgradation of individual units. Group application registration, submission and approval for sanctioning loans has also been made live.

Seed Capital

• SHG members engaged in food processing activities are being identified with help of DAY-NRLM under Ministry of Rural Development and DAY-NULM under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Seed Capital amount of Rs. 118.48 Cr. has been released to SRLM for 35,968 SHG members
• Seed Capital amount of Rs. 40 Cr. has been released during the program “AtmanirbharNari-Shakti Se Samvad” under the aegis of Hon’ble Prime Minister on 12^th August ,2021 through VC.
• 2206 seed capital applications recommended by State Urban Livelihood Mission (SULM) & 778 applications approved by SNA. Rs. 4 Lakhs released to SULM for 153 members. Marketing and Branding:
• 8 brands have been launched to promote various ODOPs under the Branding & Marketing component of the scheme. These include Dilli Bakes (Bakery),Makhana King (Foxnuts), Kashmiri Mantra (Spices),Amrit Phal (Aamla), Madhu Mantra (Honey), Somdana (Millets), Cori Gold (Coriander) and Aasnaa (Murabba, Jaggery).

Whole Wheat Rusk of ‘Dilli Bakes’,the first brand launched under the PMFME Scheme by Hon’ble Union Cabinet Minister, FPI and Hon’ble MoS, FPI on 29^th October, 2021

Incubation Center:

64 proposals with an Outlay of Rs.169.12 Cr. have been sanctioned which are mainly State Agriculture University, ICAR-KVKs, etc.

Credit Linked Subsidy:

• 13039 individual applications have been received so far from 34 States/UTs. Out of which 1256 loans have been sanctioned by Banks. Rs. 9.41 Cr. of Centre share of Capital linked grant has been released to 294 individual beneficiaries.

State Level Upgradation Plan (SLUP)

• 31 States/ UTs have appointed agencies for conducting studies for State Level Up-gradation Plan (SLUP).
• SLUPs of Bihar, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Tripura finalised.

Promotional Activities

• Monthly E-Newsletter is being sent to more than 7 lakh stakeholders.
• ODOP Webinars/Offline Workshops are being conducted by States/UTs and NIFTEM/IIFPT.
• Monthly success stories of the beneficiaries of the PMFME Scheme launched since July 2021.
• National newspaper and radio advertisements launched for inviting individual applications.

Convergence

• AnMoU with the Ministry of Rural Development signed on 25^th May, 2021 for liasioning with Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs-MoRD) for coordination with RSETIs/ RSETI sponsor Banks and the NAR/ NACER for training the beneficiaries, availability of RSETI training infrastructure and resources for training for PMFME Scheme.
• A Joint Letter with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA-NULM) signed on 9^th June, 2021 for identification of SHGs/Federation involved in Food Processing, release of seed capital & capital subsidy, training & capacity building, handholding, marketing and common infrastructure support. A Joint Guidelines for implementation of various components of the PMFME scheme issued on 18^th June, 2021.
• AnMoU with the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) signed on 22^nd June, 2021 for facilitating training programs for SHGs and FPOs, monitoring the training programs, preparation of program output database and contribution to the policy and implementation.
• AnMoU with National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) signed on 1^st September, 2021 for identification of eligible ST beneficiaries, refinancing support, training and capacity building, leveraging capacity of NSTFDC, handholding and Marketing & Branding support to ST entrepreneur.

• AnMoU with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) signedon 1^st October, 2021 for providing training support related to Food Safety and Hygiene and facilitating the process of registration & licensing.
• AnMoU with Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) signedon 17^th November, 2021 for utilization of their network of training providers to mobilize the trainees/beneficiaries under PMFME scheme, designing of model in few Dairy & Meat ODOP districts, capacity building and collaborating efforts for various schemes of MoFPI and DAHD.
• AnMoUwassigned with 15 Banks for transfer of subsidy amount, monitoring and liaising with lending banks for target driven approvals of applications & timely disbursal of subsidies to beneficiaries.

3. . Operation Green scheme

The scope of short-term measures under Operation Greens (OG) Scheme was extended from TOP to TOTAL on 11.06.2020 under the AtmanirbharAbhiyan to address distress of farmers of perishable fruits and vegetables. Ministry provides 50% subsidy for their transportation and storage from surplus production areas to major consumption centres. It also provides 50% freight subsidy for movement ofnotified fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail and 50% Air freight subsidy for movement of notified fruits & vegetables from NER and Himalayan States. The expansion of its scope from TOP (Tomato, Onion, Potato) to TOTAL (41 perishables) has resulted in widening the impact of the scheme in terms of the production clusters and beneficiaries covered under the scheme.

Through Kisan Rail, Indian Railways has disbursed subsidy of Rs.110 crore approximately for evacuation of about 5.50 Lakh MT of Fruits & Vegetables across the country under the scheme in 2021. Ministry of Food Processing Industries has reimbursed total subsidy of Rs.69crore to Indian Railways on this account.

Under direct claims,a total subsidy of Rs.1.48 crore were released against 24 claims towards transportation of 12,867 MT of Onion and transportation/storage of 280.51 MT of Carrot.

Expanded OG from TOP to 22 perishables:

In pursuance of budget announcement of February 2021, the scope of long term strategy i.e. Value Chain Development Projects under Operation Greens Scheme has been expanded from Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) crops to (22) Twenty-Two Perishable products in order to boost value addition in agriculture and allied products and their exports.

22 perishable crops identified includes 10 fruits, 11 vegetables and one marine i.e. shrimp.Assessment Studies for 10 fruits and shrimp have been completed and Scheme guidelines & EOI for these 11 items are under formulation on the basis of findings/ recommendations of these Infrastructure Gap Assessment Studies.

E.COVID-19 initiatives and Grievances Redressal

• Due to COVID19, the country went through severe challenges posed during the first and second waves. The Grievance Cell of MoFPI which was established during 2020, continued to support the industry with issues related to agri-food sector received directly or through industry associations. The cell resolved 64 issues which were caused by the restrictions imposed to curb spreading of the virus.
• An interaction, through video conference, was held with leading industry members to understand the issues anticipated by the industry due to COVID restrictions. A discussion was also held with promoters of MoFPI assisted projects to understand issues faced due to COVID related restrictions.

F.Promotional Activities

• Food Processing Summits:

1. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated a two-day Northeast Summit on Food Processing Industries at IIM Shillong on 24^th September 2021 with the aim of building partnership for inclusive growth in the food processing sector in the region.

2. Ministry of Food Processing Industries also organized food processing summits in Guwahati, Assam, Gwalior and Madhya Pradesh during February and March 2021 respectively for creating awareness of various initiatives of Government of India in the agri-food sectors, Ministry’s schemes, investment opportunities etc. These summits witnessed participation of over 100 stakeholders, including Farmer Producer Organization’s (FPOs), entrepreneurs, corporates, bankers, state departments etc.

• Social Media Activities:

Monthly Social Media Campaigns are being launched to spread awareness regarding various Schemes of the Ministry and Covid. AzadiKaAmritMahotsav is being celebrated by the Ministry and one post related to it is posted in the social media handles regularly. A 15 days’ Social Media Campaign named ‘Main HoonAatmanirbharNaari’ was launched to celebrate Women’s Day. The Meri Kahani Meri Zubani competition was held under the ‘Main Hoon Aatmanirbhar Naari’ campaign in collaboration with MyGov. The competition was hosted on MyGov Platform and on Ministry of Food Processing Industries’ social media handles. The “Food Processing Week” was celebrated as a part of AzadiKaAmritMahotsav from 6^th Sept 2021 to 12^th Sept 2021 which was widely promoted on MoFPI’s social media handles.

One-week campaign was also launched to celebrate World Food Day in October, 2021. Social media campaign on Swatchh Office was also launched to spread awareness related to cleanliness.

A 3-days SIAL INDIA Vinexpo 2021 powered by Ministry of Food Processing Industries was also covered on MoFPI’s social media handles.

New social media accounts on LinkedIn and KOO were created and both the accounts are being followed by good number of people. MoFPI’s Instagram & KOO account is now verified accounts and have a verification badge.

• Investment Promotion

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) constituted a Project Development Cell in June 2020, with the prime objective of accelerating investments. Some of the key activities undertaken by the PDC during this year, were –

• Interactions with individual State Governments / UT Administrations for discussion on developing of potential investible projects, company specific issues, creating awareness of Government initiatives etc.
• One-on-one discussions with agri-food companies to facilitate investment interests or issues pertaining to such projects
• Facilitation of Government of Ladakhfor setting up of Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) in the UT

G. Achievements of NIFTEMs

I. NIFTEM, Kundli, Haryana

1. NIFTEM has set up a Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) under internally funded Entrepreneurship/Innovation Cell which hosts a plethora of activities for the students who want to venture into entrepreneurship and is managed by a group of select faculty members from different departments of the Institute.
2. NIFTEM has signed anMoU with Women Child Development Department of Kerala and has set up Kerala Nutrition Research Centre at Thiruvanthapuram to develop nutraceuticals based ready to use therapeutic foods for the management of malnutrition in children and women in reproductive age.
3. NIFTEM has established Contract Research Organization (CRO) for collaborative research with industries, strengthened Centre for Food & Agriculture Research and Analysis (CFRA) for NABL Accreditation for Chemical & Biological disciplines, and has launched its own technology innovation and business incubation centre (NTIBIF) for entrepreneurship development.
4. NIFTEM has established a Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Cold Chain Technology and Management in collaboration of Danfoss India. NIFTEM is establishing a CII-Cold Chain and Logistics Resource Centre (CCLRC) with the support from GIZ
5. NIFTEM has joined hands with GAIN, an international development sector partner and Hexagon Nutrition, a leading food and nutraceutical company to set up a Centre of Excellence for Food Fortification aiming to eradicate malnutrition.

6. A patent with IPR no.201711039096 Titled “New Method for Preservation of Sugarcane Juice “invented by Prof.AshutoshUpadhyay has been granted by Indian Government in the year 2021. Overall, nine patents have been filed.
7. Trademark ‘COCOSHRESHTH’ (Trademark no. 4432797) for the coconut water extraction machine invented by Dr.Vinkel Arora has been granted.
8. GatrotopeProMeat “The India Smart Protein Innovation Challenge” was won by NIFTEM students Debabrata Das and Pranjuli Garg under the mentorship of DrPrarabdh under the Plant Meat based category.
9. R&D portal was inaugurated to display food processing related technologies from whole country on one platform.
10. NIFTEM has published more than 135 articles in reputed Scopus indexed journals with Thomson Reuters’ impact factor 1.3 to 12. And NIFTEM has i-10 index of 116.

II. NIFTEM, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

• Ranked as Excellent Institute in Atal Rankings of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 by Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
• Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, NIFTEM, Thanjavur has been ranked as TOP 2% of Scientists working in the field of Food science and Technology by Stanford University and Elsevier
• Dr.Jeyan Arthur Moses has been awarded with the NASI- Platinum Jubilee Young Scientist Award 2021 from The National Academy of Sciences, India.

RESEARCH

(i) Research Publications

Faculty members, scholars and students published 116 research articles in reputed International peer reviewed journals out of which 78 research articles are published in Scopus indexed impact factor journals with the highest impact factor of 12.563 and 23 international book chapters.

(ii) Technologies Transferred to Industries

• Mobile food processing unit
• Integrated onion processing unit
• Solar hybrid dryer
• Non-dairy millet ice-cream

(iii) New Facilities Created for Research, Training, and Consultancy Services

• New Hostel premise is constructed with 54 rooms to accommodate 216 students.
• Centre of Excellence in Grain Sciences
• Sensory Analysis Lab
• Confectionery line in Food Processing Business incubation centre

COLLABORATIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS WITH INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

NIFTEM, Thanjavur has signed 4 MoUs with National Institutions/Universities and 6 MoAs/Licensing agreements with industries for conducting joint research projects, technology development and technology transfer. Synergizing the efforts of scientists with those working in international institutions will help effective delivery of results to stake-holders. Time tested technologies can be scaled up to suit local conditions rather than reinventing. Training and research exposure to international laboratories will help create globally competitive manpower for India.

ENTERPRENEURSHIP, TRAINING AND OUTREACH

A full-fledged food processing business incubation centre has been established to provide hands-on-training on different food processing technologies, food processing machineries renting facilities and other incubations support services to support entrepreneurs in converting their innovative ideas in new food product development. Small scale Fruits & Beverages processing lines, virgin coconut oil processing line, ice cream production line, baking unit, confectionery production line, different types of drying units, extraction units and extruded food systems, onion processing unit are available for training purpose.

(i) Entrepreneurship and Training

• 47 entrepreneurship training programs on production of various food products to SHGs, FPOs and 18 consultancy services to entrepreneurs, have been conducted through the food processing business incubation center. 805 participants benefitted from this training programs.
• 11 skill development training programs, 8 workshops and 2 student internships were conducted in different technologies to research scholars, students and interested entrepreneurs through online webinars. 1057 participants benefitted through this training programs. 17 number of consultancy services to entrepreneurs have been undertaken by the institute.

(ii) Capacity Building under PM-FME Scheme

• NIFTEM, Thanjavur is serving as the nodal national-level technical institutes for the centrally sponsored, Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) for capacity building and incubation and has organized 9 national level and 4 state-level awareness programs through which 12822 beneficiaries have gained awareness about the PMFME scheme.

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