Report Released at Make in India Week, Mumbai by Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries
Mumbai, February 16, 2016: YES BANK has partnered with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries as the Sector Partner for the ongoing Make in India Week. At the inaugural session of the seminar on Food Processing Industries, YES BANK, MoFPI, Invest India and CII released a strategic report ‘Make in India: Opportunities in Food Processing Sector’ (attached) which provides an extensive review of the food processing opportunities in India.
The report was released at the Make in India Week, Mumbai by Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries, Shri Avinash K Srivastava, Secretary, MoFPI and Mr. Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, YES BANK and Chairman, YES Institute.
Speaking at the session, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries, said, “The Food Processing Industry in India rests on two strong pillars of the Indian economy – Agriculture and Manufacturing, which are the key sectors of a developing nation. This sunrise sector is currently going through a positive transition, wherein policies are being amended, a conducing investment ecosystem is being created and all efforts to set up the required infrastructure are being made. Given the inherent strengths of India in availability of quality raw material and availability of skilled and unskilled workforce at competitive prices, I am sure that the country shall soon become the food processing hub for the world and shall bolster food exports, mapping India as a key player in global trade.”
Speaking at the session, Avinash K Srivastava, Secretary, MoFPI, said, “The Food Processing sector in the country has immense potential to attract huge investments with abundant supply of raw materials, suitable human resource, encouraging policy initiatives and investor friendly governance ecosystem. With higher levels of food wastage and lower levels of processing than the standards in the developed countries India can offer tremendous future growth in this industry. Our food processing industry ranks 5th in production, consumption and exports and accounts for 32% of the country’s total food market. This bold and timely ‘Make in India’ initiative showcases the prospect of channelizing resources to this sector to achieve higher income and gainful employment vis a vis sustainable gainful returns for the global and domestic investor community.
Commenting on the sector, Mr. Rana Kapoor, MD&CEO, YES BANK said, “India’s Food Processing sector is the single biggest enabler of multiplier benefits for India. An increased growth rate of the sector from the current 8% to 15%, will catapult India into a virtuous cycle of sustainable development, inclusive growth & economic prosperity for the Farmer, and for the Nation. The USD 260 bn sector, currently growing at 9%, has the potential to grow at higher levels of 15%. High value perishables processing focus, rural asset creation & infrastructure development, modernization and capacity expansion of logistics & cold chain infrastructure, regulatory enablement through a consultative approach between the industry & government, efficiently administered PPP initiatives and skill development are the key enablers in order to actualize this potential. Proactive initiatives under the strategic ‘Make in India’ mission, coupled with adequate policy reforms, investment in infrastructure and revamping the investment ecosystem, will help to position India as the preferred food processing hub, globally.”
Several key initiatives by the Government like according priority status to all agro-processing businesses, setting-up of mega food parks, allowing 100% FDI in the food processing and cold chain infrastructure, streamlining supply-chain as well as facilitating exports, are highly praiseworthy and key to realize the immense potential of the sector.