Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme

Ministry of Food Processing Industries

Context:

Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Completes One Year

About Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME)-

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industry (MoFPI) launched the PMFME scheme under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
• Launched on 29th June 2020, the PMFME Scheme is currently being implemented in 35 States and Union Territories.
• The online portal for the application of the PMFME Scheme was made live on 25th January 2021.
• The aim is to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote formalization of the sector. 
• The scheme to be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs.10,000 crore. 
• The scheme has a special focus on supporting Groups engaged in Agri-food processing such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain. 

Other Focus Areas:

• Waste to wealth products, minor forest products and Aspirational Districts.
  • Capacity building and research: Academic and research institutions under MoFPI along with State Level Technical Institutions would be provided support for training of units, product development, appropriate packaging and machinery for micro units.

Financial Support:

• Existing individual micro food processing units desirous of upgrading their units can avail credit-linked capital subsidy at 35% of the eligible project cost with a maximum ceiling of Rs.10 lakh per unit.
  • Support would be provided through credit linked grants at 35% for development of common infrastructure including common processing facility, lab, warehouse, etc. through FPOs/SHGs/cooperatives or state owned agencies or private enterprise.
  • A seed capital (initial funding) of Rs. 40,000- per Self Help Group (SHG) member would be provided for working capital and purchase of small tools.

Funding Details:

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore.
  • The expenditure under the scheme would be shared in 60:40 ratio between Central and State Governments, in 90:10 ratio with North Eastern and Himalayan States, 60:40 ratio with UTs with legislature and 100% by Centre for other UTs.

Milestones achieved under the PMFME Scheme

1. One District One Product

Under the One District One Product (ODOP) component of the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries approved ODOP for 707 districts for 35 States and UTs, including 137 unique products as per the recommendations received by States/UTs. 

The GIS ODOP digital map of India has been launched to provide details of ODOP products of all the States and UTs. The digital map also has indicators for Tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts. It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain development.

2. Convergence

Under the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry signed three joint letters with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed six Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC), and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI).

An agreement has been signed with the Union Bank of India as the Nodal Bank of the scheme and MoUs with 11 banks as official lending partners for the PMFME Scheme.

3. Capacity Building and Incubation Centres

Under the Capacity Building component of the PMFME Scheme, the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) and the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) have been performing a key role in providing training and research support to selected enterprises/groups/clusters in partnership with the State Level Technical Institutions. The training of 371 Master Trainers has been conducted under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) & various food domains.

NIFTEM & IIFPT have prepared training modules on 137 ODOPs which include 175 Presentations, 157 Videos, 166 DPRs, and 177 Course Content/Handbooks. Training of 469 District Level Trainers has been conducted in 18 States/UTs and in progress in other States. 491 District Resource Persons have been appointed across 302 districts. 

Under the scheme, 54 Common Incubation Centres have been approved in the 17 States and UTs like Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, J&K, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, and Uttarakhand. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries in collaboration with the IIFPT has developed an online portal for submission of Common Incubation Centre proposals and an online common incubation centre map for the facilitation of details of incubation centres across the country.

4. Seed Capital

The component under PMFME for providing seed capital to SHGs is being implemented with the support of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and its network of State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLMs) operating at the state level. The PMFME Scheme envisages financial support of Rs. 40,000 for working capital and purchase of small tools for each member of SHGs engaged in food processing activities. To date, NRLM has recommended 43,086 SHG members to State Nodal Agencies (SNA) for an amount of Rs. 123.54 Cr. SNA has approved the seed capital of 8040 members and disbursed the amount of Rs. 25.25 Cr. to SRLM.  

5. Marketing and Branding

Under the scheme, MoUs have been signed with NAFED and TRIFED to take up the marketing and branding support for 10 products each. NAFED has selected products like Pineapple, Millet based products, Coriander, Makhana, Honey, Ragi, Bakery, Isabgol, Turmeric, and Cherry for branding and marketing support. TRIFED has selected products like Honey, Tamarind, Spices, Amla, Pulses/Grains/Millets, Custard Apple, Wild Mushroom, Cashew, Black Rice, and Wild Apple under the scheme.

6. Institutional Mechanism

All the 35 participating States and UTs have constituted/ identified their respective State Nodal Agencies, State Level Approval Committees, District Level Committees, and State Level Technical Institutions. Moreover, a call centre has been established at NIFTEM to address queries and guide the stakeholders of the Scheme.

7. Promotion and Publicity of the PMFME Scheme

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries in collaboration with States/UTs and Agricultural Universities is conducting nationwide promotion and publicity of the PMFME Scheme to sensitize the stakeholders via radio, print media, offline workshops, webinars, regional language brochures/booklets, outdoor publicity, and over digital media via website, apps and social media platforms. The PMFME Scheme monthly e-newsletter is being sent to more than 5 lakh stakeholders. The PMFME Podcast series has been launched to interact with Agri-business incubators, industry experts, and startups.  

To commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is conducting 75 Unique One District One Product (ODOP) webinars/offline workshops across the country in collaboration with States/UTs, NIFTEM, and IIFPT. A weekly series of success stories titled “Kahaani Sukshma Udyamon Ki” has been launched to bring 75 stories of existing micro food processing enterprises.  

Source: PIB