Ministry of Food Processing Industries does not undertake research and development projects on its own, however, the Ministry under the Scheme of R&D, extends financial assistance as grant-in-aid to various Universities, IITs, Central/ State Government Institutions, Government funded organizations, R&D laboratories and CSIR recognized R&D units in private sector to promote and undertake demand driven R&D work in food processing sector including food processing industries for product & process development, design and development of equipment, improved storage, shelf-life, packaging etc. R&D projects of Government organizations/ Institutions are eligible for 100% grant-in-aid for the cost of equipment, consumables and expenditure related to Research Fellows, etc. while private Organizations/ Institutions/ Universities are eligible for 50% grant-in-aid for the equipment cost in general areas and 70% grant-in-aid in difficult areas.  The budget allocation for Research and Development scheme for the current financial year, i.e., 2021-2022 is Rs.7.60 Cr.

 

The details indicating number of food processing projects started in the country with the assistance of this Ministry during the last three years along with the employment generated therein are as under:

 

S.No.	Year	Number of food processing projects	Employment generated (in numbers)
1	2019-20	79	44536
2	2020-21	98	53916
3	2021-22 (up to 31.01.2022)	98	52610
	Total	275	151062

 

This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

 

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