 "World Food India: Govt expects ₹1 trn investment in food processing sector")
Investment worth over ₹1 trillion in food processing is expected at the fourth edition of World Food India, said Minister of Food Processing Chirag Paswan on Thursday.
On the first day of the four-day event, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) committing investment worth over ₹75,000 crore.
Modi said: “The world, and especially investors related to the food sector, are both looking at India with a lot of hope. India has the joint power of diversity, demand, and scale. It is this diversity that sets us apart. As food and tastes change every 100 metres, it creates demand for a variety of products, giving India a competitive edge and making us a preferred destination for investment.”
Highlighting the sector’s growth, he said its capacity had risen 20 times in the past 10 years, adding that this was the right time to invest in India.
Modi announced a credit-linked subsidy worth ₹2,518 crore for micro projects to 26,000 beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme.
Reliance Consumer Products (RCP) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to invest ₹40,000 crore to set up integrated food-manufacturing facilities in the country.
Further, Coca Cola System, which includes three bottlers of the company, sealed an agreement to jointly invest ₹25,760 crore, said Paritosh Ladhani, joint managing director, SLMG Beverages, Coca Cola’s largest independent bottler.
These include, apart from SLMG Beverages, Coca Cola’s wholly owned bottling arm Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages and the Gujarat-based Kandhari group.
Of this, SLMG will contribute ₹8,000 crore, Ladhani added.
Additionally, sources said dairy major Amul signed an agreement of ₹10,000 crore while agri-business company Olam Foods Ingredients agreed to invest ₹300 crore.
“These will provide over 900,000 jobs in the coming days. I am also thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing rate cuts in goods and services tax (GST). For the first time, in a CEO (chief executive officer) roundtable, more than industry concerns, executives were happy about the GST rate cuts, especially considering they had asked for those at World Food India’s 2024 edition,” Paswan told Business Standard on the sidelines.
During the 2023 edition of World Food India, MoUs worth ₹33,000 crore were signed.
Industry chiefs meet Paswan to voice concerns
About 106 industry CEOs had a meeting with Union minister Chirag Paswan to discuss concerns like counterfeit products and import duty on food. According to a source, the government said that it is working to tackle both the issues. Union minister Nitin Gadkari was also present at the meeting. bs reporter