Govt may dole out Rs 1,500-cr subsidy for mega food parks

NEW DELHI: In a bid to boost the food processing industry, the government is considering a Rs 1,500-crore subsidy scheme for the development of mega food parks across the country. As per the proposal, the food parks would be developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), jointly funded by the Centre, state governments and the private sector. Each food park funded by the scheme would get a subsidy of Rs 50 crore.

An empowered sub-committee of the High Level Committee on Manufacturing (HLCM) headed by the Prime Minister has recommended setting up 30 mega food parks in select cities of the country with a subsidy of Rs 50 crore per park. This would be considered by the HLCM before the proposal is put before the Cabinet for approval, an official source said.

The proposal is part of an action plan being finalised by the government for the development of food processing sector, the source added. The committee has suggested public-private partnership (PPP) model for the proposed mega food parks. The ministry of food processing industry would float a SPV that would develop the 30 food parks in partnership with state governments and private sector players.

The Centre’s contribution may be restricted to the subsidy amount. The SPV would also manage supply chain and common infrastructure of the park, besides giving credit to the farmers. Though several state governments have already proposed food parks, the Centre’s initiative is aimed at building centres of excellence with the necessary scale that could attract global investments.

To aid faster development of food parks, the government may consider increasing the subsidy component of 25% available for purchase of machinery and technical works for development of cold chains. The subsidy may be increased to 50% to develop 30 integrated cold chains as suggested by the empowered committee.

The government has plans of setting up food streets across the country that would organise the best of Indian food in one location. The plan is to develop food streets across 25 select cities in the country. Over 50,000 hygienic food vending carts may also form part of these streets.