PLI scheme in food processing will allow large scale capacity: FMCG cos

FMCG majors Nestle India, Parle, Dabur and Britannia on Tuesday said the PLI scheme in food processing will go a long way in creating large scale capacity, creating great Indian brands in international markets besides helping farmers here in the country.

With the government approving their applications for the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme in food processing, the companies said it will also play a key role in promoting job creation.

"The incentive will go a long way in terms of creating large scale capacities. It will help companies, not only, to manufacture on a large scale, have better machinery and plants, and have good products in India, but also be globally competitive and create great Indian brands and international markets," Parle Agro Products Pvt Ltd Senior Category Head Mayank Shah told PTI.

Welcoming the government's step, he said the scheme will also help in terms of "shoring up of volumes for companies and better competitiveness in global markets", besides helping in job creation.

Expressing similar views, Dabur India Ltd CEO Mohit Malhotra said, "The PLI scheme has been crafted to promote domestic manufacturing and would lead to creation of large-scale manufacturing capacity besides promoting job creation in a critical sector like food processing."

Likewise, a Britannia Industries spokesperson said, "We firmly believe that this initiative would kick start in a big way, investments and employment generation in the country."

Thanking the government for approval of its PLI scheme application for processed fruits and vegetables, Nestl India said it has "always believed that the PLI scheme for the food processing sector will help farmers and the food processing industries".

It is overall a good step for an industry that has one of the better ratios of capital investment and employment generation, the company said.

The food processing ministry on Monday had said it has approved 60 applications of investment proposals by packaged food companies, including Amul, ITC, HUL, Britannia Industries, Parle Agro, Tata Consumer Products and Nestle India seeking benefits under the PLI scheme.

In March this year, the government had approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the food processing sector, entailing an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore.