On March 5, 2020 in a meeting of The Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) which was held under the chairmanship of Union Food Processing Industries Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal sanctioned 10 projects of Rs 301.54 crore with total grant-in-aid of 67.29 crore .These projects are likely to generate employment for 10000 people and benefit nearly 40000 farmers.
Key Points
i.The projects are sanctioned under the ‘Agro Processing Cluster Scheme’ of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI)
- The scheme aims to develop modern infrastructure & common facilities which will encourage groups of entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on the cluster approach by linking groups of producers/ farmers to the processors and markets through well-equipped supply chains with modern infrastructure.
- Under this scheme IMAC approved 8 projects of Rs 230 Crore for 8 districts in TamilNadu.
- The project will generate employment for around 8000 people & benefit 32,000 farmers.
ii.Government through MoFPI makes the following efforts to encourage investments in the business
- 100 % FDI permitted under the automatic route in Food Processing Industries.
- 100% FDI allowed through approval routes for trading including e-commerce in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India.
- 100% Income Tax exemption from profit derived activities such as post-harvest value addition agriculture by FPO’s having annual turnover up to Rs.100 crores.
Gist about PMKSY
The Central Sector Scheme SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) came into effect with the approval of cabinet in May 2017 for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle. The objective is to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease Agri-Waste. The scheme has now been renamed as the “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana” (PMKSY).
