As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, a commemoration of 75 years of India’s independence, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is celebrated Food Processing Week from 6 September 2021 to 12 September 2021, under which the ministry is organised various programmes.
On the last day of the Food Processing Week on Sunday, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel, inaugurated the food processing unit of Sahara Frozen Foods in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, under the cold chain scheme component of the Central sector scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana.
Speaking on the occasion, Prahlad Singh Patel said that this processing unit would benefit everyone at the local level. He also mentioned that the ministry always prioritised local farmers and the regional crops and was working religiously with full potential to develop India’s food processing sector.
The Sahara Frozen Foods unit has been set up at a project cost of Rs. 21.09 crore and a grant in aid of Rs. 10 crore from the ministry. The unit would also provide direct and indirect employment to about 700 persons and benefit about 1,000 farmers in the central processing centres (CPC) and primary processing centres (PPC) catchment areas, the ministry has said.
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The facilities of this unit include IQF pre-processing line for fruits and vegetables (F&V) – 4 MT/Hr, deep freezer/frozen store – 4000 MT, modern racking system (stacking)-4000 MT and high reach material handling- 2 units. The unit provides excellent state-of-the-art facilities such as packing machines, water treatment plants, water storage tanks, subsystems, fittings among various other facilities. This processing unit mainly produces frozen peas, mango pieces, frozen cabbage along with other fruits and vegetables.
As part of the Food Processing Week, the success story of the beneficiary of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, Mohit Kishor Khedikar of Madhur Bakery, was published on the ministry’s social media platforms in the ‘Atmanirbhar Enterprises’ series. A webinar on business opportunities in bakery and confectionery under ‘One District One Product’ (ODOP) was also organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Department of Industries, UT CHD at Chandigarh.
In addition to the above activities, Rs. 5.41 crore as seed capital has been transferred to community-based organisations for 1,498 self-help group (SHG) members in Maharashtra, under the PMFME scheme.
