The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in June, 2020 with the objective of assisting micro food processing enterprises in the country, which are largely in informal sector and typically suffer from lack of access to credit, technology upgradation, marketing linkages and capacity building. The scheme components have been designed in a way to address these challenges faced by micro food processing enterprises. Being a demand driven scheme, the biggest implementation challenge is to generate adequate number of complete applications by prospective entrepreneurs and their sanction by implementing Banks. Model Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for food processing projects have been prepared in consultation with National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEMs) and are placed on the scheme portal for easy access by all. District Resource Persons (DRPs) have been appointed in sufficient numbers in districts by State implementing Departments / Agencies to guide and handhold the applicants through the application process, which is entirely online and seamless. A total of 12 nationalized, 20 private and 165 other banks are partnering in the implementation of scheme to ensure widest access to public. The applicants are provided training under Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) through State Level Technical Institutes (SLTIs) and a pool of such institutes along with Master Trainers, District Level Trainers and Private Training Partners has been created. Apart from entrepreneurship development, such training programs help the applicants in proper project formulation increasing the chance of project sanction by Banks. One percent of budget is earmarked at State level to conduct awareness programs about the publicity of scheme through appropriate medium of communication. Regular review meetings are held with State / UT Governments and participating Banks to improve the performance of the scheme. 

Under the PMFME Scheme, out of the 76 approved Incubation centers, 21 Incubation Centres are operational. In addition, support for creation of Common Facility Centre (CFC) is provided @ 35% of eligible project cost with maximum limit of Rs. 3 Crore to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)/ Self Help Groups (SHGs) and its Federations/ Cooperatives/ Government Agencies to establish food processing line along with common infrastructure/ value chain/ incubation centre. Substantial capacity of the CFC is available for use by other units and public on hiring basis.

The Scheme provides Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training for beneficiaries engaged in micro food processing. To ensure quality and uniformity, Master Trainers are trained by the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Kundli and NIFTEM, Thanjavur, and are certified by the Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI). These Master Trainers, in turn, train district-level trainers, who are also certified by FICSI. Only certified trainers are permitted to deliver training under the Scheme.

At the State level, training programmes are organised and coordinated by State Level Technical Institutions (SLTIs), while monitoring of training delivery is undertaken by district-level officers appointed by the State Nodal Agency (SNA). This includes verification of training conduct and internal assessment of beneficiaries to assess learning outcomes and training effectiveness. Further, all training-related information, including training modules and beneficiary attendance, is maintained on the dedicated online training portal, and participation certificates are generated digitally upon successful updation and validation of records.

The training curriculum is developed by NIFTEM-Kundli and NIFTEM-Thanjavur with inputs from other national institutions to ensure quality and relevance. Based on feedback from States and other stakeholders, training content is continuously updated to reflect current requirements and emerging technologies. NIFTEM also conducts national-level online webinars on new food technologies and domain-specific subjects for micro food processing entrepreneurs across the country.

Till 31^st October 2025, NIFTEMs have developed 779 ODOP training modules, along with 199 presentations, 192 videos, 190 DPRs, and 198 handbooks/course materials, to support continuous learning for beneficiaries.

The Scheme aims to expand incubation facilities in high-demand ODOP clusters, subject to feasibility and proposals received from the State Governments. Further, the Scheme fosters collaborations with technical institutions, agricultural universities, and industry bodies to enhance technology transfer, product development, and testing services.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Shri Ravneet Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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CMC-MoFPI

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