60 companies get approval under PLI scheme for food processing

The government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme promises to bring about a wide range of benefits for the food processing industry. Not only will Indian brands be able to compete globally, but they will see the creation of jobs. A report.

The government’s recently launched Production Linked Incentive PLI scheme for food processing industry has witnessed a lot of interest among corporates in the sector. The scheme covers four segments—ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat foods, processed fruits and vegetables, marine products, and mozzarella cheese and the incentive is linked to local production and sale of products.

Reports point out that 60 large packaged food companies — among these companies are Britannia Industries Ltd, Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Ltd, Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul), and ITC Ltd that applied for investment in ready-to-eat products, fruits and vegetables, marine and mozzarella cheese — have been approved the scheme. The approvals have been granted under category 1 of the scheme meant for large entities. Applicants under this category can also undertake branding and marketing activities in overseas markets. The selected applicant will be required to invest in plant and machinery in the first two years, i.e., in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The PLI scheme was announced on March 31, 2021, with an outlay of ₹10,900 crores. The scheme was launched to support the creation of global food manufacturing champions in keeping with India’s natural resources and to support Indian food products in international markets.

In the ready-to-eat foods segment, there are companies like Britannia Industries Ltd, Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Ltd, Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, Parle Biscuits Pvt. Ltd, Bikaji Foods International Ltd, Bikanervala Foods Pvt. Ltd, Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd, Anmol Industries Ltd, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

“The incentive will go a long way in terms of creating large-scale capacities. It will help companies, not only, to manufacture on a large scale, have better machinery and plants, and have good products in India, but also be globally competitive and create great Indian brands and international markets” — Mayank Shah, Parle Agro Products Pvt Ltd

Speaking about the PLI scheme, Mayank Shah, Senior Category, Parle Agro Products Pvt Ltd, told news agency PTI that “the incentive will go a long way in terms of creating large-scale capacities. It will help companies, not only, to manufacture on a large scale, have better machinery and plants, and have good products in India, but also be globally competitive and create great Indian brands and international markets”, he said. Shah also mentioned that the scheme would also help in terms of “shoring up of volumes for companies and better competitiveness in global markets”, besides create jobs.

Mohit Malhotra, CEO, Dabur India Ltd, agreed with Shah and pointed out that “the PLI scheme has been crafted to promote domestic manufacturing and would lead to the creation of large-scale manufacturing capacity besides promoting job creation in a critical sector like food processing”.

While a Britannia Industries spokesperson optimistically mentioned that “we firmly believe that this initiative would kick start in a big way, investments and employment generation in the country”, Nestlé India said it had “always believed that the PLI scheme for the food processing sector will help farmers and the food processing industries” and that it was a good step for an industry that has one of the better ratios of capital investment and employment generation.

In the category of fruits and vegetables, more than 30 applications have been approved, including Tata Consumer Products Ltd, Capital Foods Pvt. Ltd, Nestle India Ltd, DS Spice Pvt. Ltd, Dabur India, Parle Agro, MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd, Mccain Foods India, and Tasty Bite Eatables.

“This is the first time such a scheme which combines incentives on investments and sales has been announced. Not only will this help us fuel growth domestically, but it will also help us become more competitive in the exports market” — R S Sodhi, Managing Director GCMMF

Four approvals granted for making mozzarella cheese are to Parag Milk Foods Ltd, Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, Sunfresh Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd and Indapur Dairy and Milk Products Ltd. R S Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), said that “this is the first time such a scheme which combines incentives on investments and sales has been announced. Not only will this help us fuel growth domestically, but it will also help us become more competitive in the exports market”.

Companies that have received approvals for PLI scheme:

Ready-to-eat/Ready-to-cook: Britannia Industries Ltd. Haldiram Snacks Pvt. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Parle Biscuits Pvt. Ltd., Bikaji Foods International Ltd., ITC Ltd., Haldiram Foods International Pvt. Ltd., Bikanervala Foods Pvt. Ltd., Balaji Wafers Pvt. Ltd., Anmol Industries Ltd. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Prataap Snacks Ltd.

Fruits & Vegetables: Parle Agro Pvt. Synthite Industries Pvt. Asandas and Sons Pvt. Plant Lipids Pvt. Kancor Ingredients Ltd. Everest Food Products Pvt. MTR Foods Pvt. McCain Foods India Pvt. Tasty Bite Eatables Ltd. ITC Ltd. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Exotic Fruits Pvt. Foods and Inns Ltd. Iscon Balaji Foods Pvt. Aachi Masala Foods Pvt. Pravin Masalewale Varun Beverages Ltd. Keventer Agro Ltd. Capital Foods Pvt. Nestle India Ltd. Vidya Herbs Pvt. DS Spiceco Pvt. Dabur India Ltd. Tata Consumer Products Ltd. Om Oil & Flour Mills Ltd. Fieldfresh Foods Pvt. Nilons Enterprises Pvt. Suruchi Spices Pvt. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Sahyadri Farmers Producer Co. Moon Beverages Ltd. Emami Agrotech Ltd. Ghodawat Consumer Pvt.

Marine: Falcon Marine Exports Ltd. Asvini Fisheries Pvt. Devi Sea Foods Ltd. Sandhya Aqua Devi Fisheries Ltd. Sandhya Marines Ltd. Avanti Frozen Foods Pvt. Gadre Marine Export Pvt. Choice Trading Corp. ITC Ltd. Nekkanti Sea Food Ltd.

Mozzarella Cheese: Parag Milk Foods Ltd. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Sunfresh Agro Industries Pvt. Indapur Dairy and Milk Products.

Photo is for representational purposes only, Photo courtesty: UNIDO