Government intervention in other areas
- The industries (development and regulation) act of 1951 exempted all processed food goods from licensing.
- Foreign direct investment is permitted.
- NABARD has established a special fund with a corpus of Rs. 2000 crores to give low-cost financing to approved food parks and agro-processing facilities.
- Lower GST for raw and processed goods—nearly 80% of food items are covered by the lower tax slabs of 0%, 5%, and 12%.
- Under the 1961 Income Tax Act, there are tax holidays and investment-related deductions.
- Nivesh Bandhu site — for spreading information on state-specific resource potential, regulatory assistance, and tax advantages available to food processors.
- Maintaining a steady temperature is the most crucial part of supply chain management.
- During transit, storage, and processing, this is ensured by cold chain facilities.
Government Policies to Meet the Challenges of the Food Processing Sector
Food processing is a type of manufacturing in which raw materials are processed into intermediate foods or edible items using scientific knowledge and technology. Bulky, perishable, and occasionally inedible food resources are converted into more usable, concentrated, shelf-stable, and pleasant meals or beverages using a variety of techniques. Food processing, for the most part, improves the storability, portability, palatability, and convenience of the finished product. General features of raw food resources, principles of food preservation, processing elements that impact quality, packaging, water and waste management, excellent manufacturing methods, and sanitary protocols are all important for food processing professionals to know.
The Food Processing Industry (FPI) is a rising business that has gained traction in recent years. Because of the critical links and synergies that it fosters between the two pillars of our economy, industry, and agriculture, the industry is extremely important. It has a lot of potential for stimulating economic growth, which has prompted the government to take a number of legislative steps to support the food processing industry.
The Indian food sector ranks fifth in terms of scale, contributing almost 6% of GDP, 13% of Indian exports, and 6% of overall industrial investment in the country. Furthermore, it is expected to develop at a pace of 20%, with the processed food category accounting for 25%. Milk and milk products, snack foods, bread goods, fruit and vegetable products, fish and meat processing, and food processing machinery and related equipment are all important aspects of this business. Exports are increasing, which creates more job opportunities.