PLI spurs fund inflows into food processing biz

New Delhi: The production-linked incentive scheme for the food processing industry (PLI SFPI) has attracted 173 projects with a total investment of Rs7,690 crore. In this calendar year, the PLISFPI got Rs564 crore worth of investment.

An incentive amount of Rs1,070 crore was released for 2021-22 and 2022-23, official sources told Bizz Buzz. The PLISFPI is among several measures taken by the government to improve the supply chain management from farm gates to retail outlets.

The PLISFPI supports the creation of global food manufacturing champions, branding, and marketing abroad. It is expected to create off-farm employment and provide better prices for farm produce and higher income to farmers, the sources said.

It may be mentioned here that the food processing industry is a booming section. In the calendar year 2021, it reported implementation of 72 projects with a total investment of Rs7,236 crore. In 2022, the sector attracted more than double of that, Rs15,679 crore, in 102 projects. In the last calendar year too, the performance was very impressive - Rs30,271 crore in 123 projects.

The central government cleared the PLISFPI in March 2021 with an outlay of Rs10,900 crore for five years, that is, till 2027-27. It aimed at supporting the food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum sales and which were willing to make minimum stipulated investment for expansion of the processing capacity and branding abroad to incentivize emergence of strong Indian brands.

The scheme also supports the creation of global food manufacturing champions. Further, it intends to strengthen select Indian brands for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets. Other objectives included increase in employment opportunities of off-farm jobs, remunerative prices of farm produce, and higher income to farmers.

A year ago, the Union Cabinet decided to extend the PLISFPI to organic and millet-based products.