NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, OCT 10
To make the food entrepreneurs of Gujarat aware about the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, a two-day Entrepreneurship Awareness Program for Food Processing Sector was launched at Bhaskar Rai Pandya Community Hall, Bodakdev here on Monday.
- For Individual Micro Food Processing Units, 35% credit-linked capital subsidy of the eligible project cost can be availed with a maximum ceiling of Rs 10 lakh per unit.
- For capital investment along the value chain, a 30% credit linked grant will be made available to FPOs, SHGs and cooperatives.
- For SHGs engaged in food processing, Rs 40,000 seed capital per SHG member would be provided in the form of grant for working capital and purchase of small tools.
- For development of common infrastructure facilities such as warehouse, cold storage and processing facility, a 35% credit linked grant would be made available to SHGs, FPOs, cooperatives, state owned agencies and private entrepreneurs.
- Assistance to existing micro food processing units to transform them into organised units, by strengthening their marketing & branding, and integrating the supply chain with formal units.
- Increased access to shared services, such as storage, incubation facilities, and packaging.
Speaking to navjeevanexpress.com, Gujarat Agro Industry Corporation Ltd Managing Director D K Parekh, IAS, said, “Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Central government to help micro units engaged in food processing. Under this scheme, 35 percent subsidy is provided to individuals with a limit of Rs 10 lakh and for SHGs and groups up to Rs 3 crore is available. Apart from that the eligible beneficiaries under PMFME scheme availing credit-linked subsidy would be able to avail an additional benefit of interest subvention at 3 percent on the interest rate being charged by the banks. It provides financial, technical and business support for the upgradation of micro food processing enterprises in the country.”
Dwelling at length on the loan mela, Parekh said, “Nearly 500 persons and organizations have registered till today morning and we are optimistic that by tomorrow it will reach over 1,000. By the end of this loan mela on Tuesday, nearly 100 loan applications will be processed by the banks. Normally, it would take a fortnight to two months to clear the loans. Applicants have to visit the convergence portal of the Government and fill up the form with the help of District Resource Persons (DRPs) and upload it along with the detailed project report. The DRP will be paid a service charge of Rs 20,000 per DPR. The District Nodal Officers (DNOs) will scrutinize the form with the aid of District Local Committee and forward it to the bank. An agreement has been signed with the Union Bank of India as the Nodal Bank of the scheme and MoUs with 11 PSU banks as official lending partners for the PMFME Scheme. Many private banks like HDFC, IndusInd, ICICI and cooperative banks also grant loans under this scheme.”
Eight banks, including the PNB, SBI, Canara and Central Bank of India, etc have put up their tables at the event to process the loan requirements of the applicants.
According to PNB Manager, Agriculture – Planning & Development Department Ankush Mohan Patil, “If the loan applications meet all the eligibility criteria of the bank, It would process and clear the loan in 12 working days. Further, based on the CIBIL score the applicants will get more benefits from the bank.”
The Program will remain open on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 from 10.30 am to 6.00 pm.
The convergence portal between the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme was launched on September 21.
For the ease of approval of projects, the AIF MIS portal has been modified for the acceptance of applications from the beneficiaries under the PMFME scheme.
Gujarat Agro Ind Corporation Ltd, Ahmedabad Chamber of Commerce Welfare Fund and Innovative Food Entrepreneurs Associates LLP are jointly holding this loan mela.
Jayendra Tanna (Chairman, Ahmedabad Chamber of Commerce), Anil Mulchandani (innovative food Entrepreneur), MK Khureshi – Director Gujarat Agro Industry Corporation Ltd, Hetal Aamin – Kalyani Mahila Sahasi Vikas Sang & Rohit Khanna – IFPI Co-Founder, CA Siddharth Bhatt expressed confidence that this initiative will add a new chapter in the lives of micro units engaged in food processing.
The contribution of the food processing sector has increased continuously with Gross Value Added (GVA) in food processing sector from Rs. 1.34 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 2.37 lakh crore in 2020-21 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.97%. This is more than 12-13% share of the total output in the registered manufacturing sector in India.
There are about 25 lakh units in the unorganized or semi-organised sector that contribute 74% of employment in food processing sector. Nearly 66% of these units are located in rural areas and about 80% of them are family-based enterprises supporting livelihood in rural household and minimizing their migration to urban areas. These units largely fall with in the category of micro enterprises with less than Rs 1 crore capital investment and lower than Rs 5 crore turnover. There are many NGOs, Self-Help Groups, Farmer Producer Organizations, GruhaUdyog, Cooperatives and home-based food entrepreneurs that are in the business of food products.
