India News | Food Processing Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras Inaugurates 5 Units Set Up with Rs 124 Cr Investment

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Tuesday virtually inaugurated five processing units in Gujarat, Karnataka and Assam that have been set up with a project cost of Rs 124.44 crore, including the government's grant of Rs 28 crore.

These five food processing units, of which three are in Gujarat and one each in Karnataka and Assam, have helped in employment generation for 708 people and also benefitted 7,600 farmers, the minister told reporters here after the inauguration.

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Paras noted that the food processing sector is very important for reducing wastage of grains, fruits and vegetables as well as creation of job opportunities and augmenting farmers' income.

He highlighted that the government has sanctioned 42 mega food parks, of which around 20 are already operational and the rest would be functional in the next 2-3 years.

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Paras said the ministry is also focusing on creation of mini food parks and cold chains.

The five food processing units inaugurated on Tuesday were -- Phoenix Frozen at Anand, Gujarat with Rs 22.69 crore project cost; Athos Collage at Surat, Gujarat (Rs 11.67 crore); Hain Future Natural Products, Tumkur, Karnataka (Rs 36.76 crore); Graintech Foods at Nalbari in Assam (Rs 19.32 crore); and Vasant Masala, Gandhinagar, Gujarat with project cost of Rs 34 crore.

The union food processing ministry has given Rs 8.02 crore grant to Phoenix Frozen, while the other four units got Rs 5 crore each.

Paras said the ministry is currently celebrating food processing week.

He said the ministry provides financial assistance for setting up of food processing units across the country under various programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana.

Stressing on the need for increasing the food processing level and storage capacity in India, Paras said this would help in keeping prices under control, especially of perishable fruits and vegetables.

Increasing food processing level is one of the major priorities of the central government, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)