The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Food Processing Industry in a bid to support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crores.
As per a release by the Cabinet, the Centre's scheme aims to increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs and ensuring remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.
"The union cabinet today approved Rs 10,900 crores as incentive/subsidy under PLI scheme for the food processing industry," Union Minister Piyush Goyal said while addressing a press conference here.
The scheme will be implemented over a six-year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27 and will facilitate the expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crores and generate employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.
"The objectives of the scheme are to support food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum sales and willing to make a minimum stipulated investment for expansion of processing capacity and Branding abroad to incentivise emergence of strong Indian brands," read the release.
Other aims include supporting the creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India's natural resource endowment, the creation of global food manufacturing champions, and strengthen select Indian brands of food products for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets.
The scheme will be implemented across the country through a Project Management Agency (PMA) which will be responsible for the appraisal of applications or proposals, verification of eligibility for support, scrutiny of claims eligible for disbursement of incentive.
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