The government on Thursday said the food processing industry has made an investment of Rs 4,900 crore under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme so far. The PLI scheme for the food processing industry, with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore, was approved on March 2021. It is to be implemented for a period of seven years till 2026-27.

“Under the PLI scheme for food processing industry, a total of 182 applications have been approved under different categories,” an official statement said.

This includes 30 applications (8 large entities and 22 SMEs) under the PLI scheme for millets-based products, it said.

“As per the data being reported by the PLI scheme beneficiaries, investment of about Rs 4900 crores has been made under the scheme,” the statement said.

Incentives amounting to Rs 800 crore are likely to be disbursed in the current financial year. Sales-based incentive of Rs 107.3 crore has been disbursed so far, it added.

According to the food ministry, stakeholder consultations are also underway for introducing a “PLI Scheme for Nutraceutical sector” to enable this segment to reach its potential and find its rightful place.

The implementation of the 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 2026-27. The investments by the PLI beneficiaries is likely to result in increase in sales and export of food products. A positive stimulus to domestic industry is expected as the scheme stipulates that in order to get the incentive, the entire chain of manufacturing processes, including primary processing of the food products, shall take place in India. The scheme will also facilitate promotion of Indian brands abroad, it added.

Sharing details about approved projects and progress made in other schemes, the ministry said a total of 112 food processing projects were completed and operationalised during 2022, leveraging private investment of Rs 706.04 crore and generating direct and indirect employment for 25,293 persons. Around 190 food processing projects have been approved during the year.

The ministry said ‘One District One Product (ODOP)’ (under the Prime Minister- Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme) has been approved for 713 districts of 35 states and union territories with 137 unique products.

A total of 46 new projects have been approved under the Operation Greens Scheme in 2022, it added.