The Silicon Review ^Asia

Shri. Ramweswar Teli, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries (FPI) launched a Nano-scale Processing and Computational Modelling Unit at IIFPT(Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology) in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. A national conference on new techniques in food processing industries was held on the occasion, which was also inaugurated by him.

He mentioned that India has been at the foreground of food grain production worldwide, for which he extends his gratitude towards the scientists and researchers for their hard work and contribution towards producing sufficient food to feed the exponentially growing population.

“We have a market in food that is growing with an expected figure of Rs 61 lakh crore in food retail by 2020. India is the global leader in the production of fruits like banana and mangoes, andmilk, spices, shrimp, pulses, etc. It also ranks second in cereals, vegetables, and tea production,”said the minister. However, it is unfortunate that every year, a significant amount of produce is lost, which has plagued the supply chain industry. The loss is estimated to be 3-10 percent in durables, 10-20 percent in semi-perishable items like fruits, eggs, fish, meat, milk, and vegetables, and about 5-16 percent in horticulture produce.

Hence, India is in dearth need of preserving its produce. Besides food production, it must focus on food processing and preservation. It is important to understand how to secure farmers’ wealth through their assets, which is the goal of Prime Minister’s PradhanMantriKisanSampadaYojna. Launched with the assigned budget of Rs. 6,000 crores, it aims to help farmers achieve the true value of their produce.

The food processing industry is witnessing new inventions and discoveries almost every day, and the goal of the advancement is to better process, preserve, and enrich the food products.