R&D in food processing needs to be strengthened: PM

October 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said inadequate infrastructure and the taxation structure are major hurdles preventing the growth of the country's food processing industry.

October 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A slew of policies introduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for the food processing industry in the country has started bearing results, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Tuesday. "Our government adopted in 2005 a 'Vision 2015 - Strategy and Action Plan' to enhance the level of perishables from 6 percent to 20 percent, to increase value addition from 20 percent to 30 percent and to increase India's share in global food trade from 2 percent to 3 percent," Manmohan Singh said while inaugurating here the 1st Conference of State Ministers for Food Processing Industries, organised by the ministry of food Processing Industries (MoFPI).

October 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday called for a national food processing policy for the rapid growth of the sector. "The policy to be effective will have to be comprehensive and adopt a number of legislative, administrative and promotional measures," the prime minister said while inaugurating the first conference of state ministers of food processing industries here.

October 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to inaugurate a conference of state food processing industry ministers here Tuesday to get inputs for a nation-wide policy and give a push to the $67-billion industry. The focus of the policy will be to step up the level of processing food and related produce in the country, bring down the wastage of perishables from the present 50 percent and scale up research and development efforts.

October 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the first Conference of State Ministers of Food Processing Industries here tomorrow.

October 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the first Conference of State Ministers of Food Processing Industries here today.

July 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is planning to formulate a separate policy for the country's food processing industry and to scale up research and development (R&D) activities in the sector, Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai said here Friday. "The government is planning to call a meeting of state food processing ministers after the conclusion of the current parliament session to seek their views in formulating a separate food processing policy," Sahai said.

July 22nd, 2009 Woman found dead at Calif. food processing plantINDUSTRY, Calif.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) wants the government to set up a Rs.7,500-crore ($1.5-billion) corpus fund for the meat and fish processing industry. The fund could be used to infuse new technologies and skills into the food processing sector in order to increase the production of meat, fish and poultry by 25 percent in two years, the chamber said in a statement Wednesday.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The erratic monsoon this year will not hurt the country's food processing sector as there was enough surplus produce for value addition, according to Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai. "In India, the (food) processing level is still very low - at only around 10 percent," Sahai told reporters on the sidelines of a function held here Friday to launch the Ministry of Food Processing Industries' new magazine.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's proposal of investment-linked tax incentives for setting up cold chain infrastructure and warehousing facilities will greatly help the food processing industry in the country, said Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai. "I propose to extend investment-linked tax incentives to the businesses of setting up and operating cold chain, warehousing facilities for storing agricultural produce and the business of laying and operating cross-country natural gas or crude or petroleum oil pipeline network for distribution on common carrier principle," Mukherjee said in parliament Monday while presenting the union budget.

June 24th, 2009 HALDIA - After the Green Revolution and White Revolution, a food processing revolution is the need of the hour for India to solve "major problems of unemployment, rural poverty and deprivation", Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Wednesday. After Green Revolution and White Revolution, there is need for translating into reality another revolution, that is the revolution in the food processing industry.

June 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The food processing industry has the potential to become the engine growth of the economy and it may get a 10-year tax holiday to attract more investments, Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay said Monday. "The food processing sector can be the growth engine of the economy, and is eligible for a 10-year tax holiday," Sahay said here at a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

February 26th, 2009 HARIDWAR - With the food processing industry in India growing 13.7 percent annually, India is set to be become the food factory of the world, says Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai. 'While the manufacturing sector growth in the country has gone down from 7 percent to 6 percent, the food processing sector is growing a a robust 13.7 percent,' Sahai said at the foundation laying ceremony of the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park at village Padartha near here Wednesday afternoon, one of the 10 mega food parks that are being set up in the next two years in the country under the 11th Five-Year Plan.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's first mega food park is to come up at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Yog Peeth said Friday. The Patanjali Food and Herbal Park will be inaugurated by Union Minister for Food processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai Feb 25, a press statement said.