On 6 December 2021, Nestle India received communication from the Government of India that its proposal with respect to processed fruits and vegetables has been approved. In June, Nestle India submitted its proposal to the Government of India’s production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the food processing sector under the eligible categories. The scheme covers four segments— ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat foods, processed fruits and vegetables, marine products, and mozzarella cheese.
“The company 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,” it said.
According to media reports, in all, 60 companies that applied for investment in categories such as ready-to-eat products, fruits and vegetables, marine and mozzarella cheese have been approved.
Government of India on supporting Indian food brands
Through the PLI scheme, the government of India wants to support the creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore.
The government wants to support food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum sales through the scheme. It is willing to make a minimum stipulated investment to expand processing capacity and branding abroad to incentivize the emergence of strong Indian brands.
It also wants to support the creation of global food manufacturing champions, strengthen the selection of Indian brands of food products for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets, increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs, and ensure remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.
The incentive under the scheme would be paid for six years ending 2026-27. The incentive payable for a particular year will be due for payment in the following year. The scheme’s duration will be six years, from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
As per the government, the scheme’s implementation would facilitate the expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs 33,494 crore and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by 2026-27.
