New Delhi, Feb 25:Government is likely to bring the much awaited National Food Processing Policy during the current budget session of Parliament to remove bottlenecks and restrictions in the sector to attract big investment."The draft policy document is ready and we are trying our best to announce it during the budget session itself after the completion of certain formalities," Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar said.
He said the proposed policy aimed at substantially enhancing value addition and raising the processing level from a meagre 2 per cent at present to at least 10 per cent by the end of the decade.
Mr Kumar regreted that despite being one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world with an output of about 602 million tonne, India was able to process only two per cent of its farm produce.
The proposed policy, he said, seeks to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as domestic private investment to make the stagnant sector more vibrant. "With an investment of about Rs 1,40,000 crore, the processing level can be increased to ten per cent. It will also generate about 3 crore jobs," he said.
(PTI)
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