Vibrant NE opened
Source: The Sangai Express

New Delhi, February 18 2016: Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the Vibrant North-East 2016 Summit and Exhibition in Guwahati today.

Speaking at the summit Badal stated that the North Eastern States are rich in resources and the NDA Government is committed to addressing the issue of development of North East and therefore, the focus of Prime Minister is to ensure wholesome development of the North East Region and to link farmers with modern technology driven agricultural practices and also to accelerate the pace of developmental projects in this region.

The North Eastern Region holds lot of potential for food processing as the weather and adequate availability of water are conducive to food cultivation and suitable for growing large variety of fruits and vegetables, the Minister said.

Badal informed that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is pursuing development of North East through its schemes of Mega Food Park, Cold Chain, Abattoir and development of Food Testing Laboratories.

As a step in this direction, 3 Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned for this region, one each in Assam (which has been made operational), Mizoram and in Tripura.

Five Cold Chain projects have also been sanctioned by the Ministry in the States of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram which have a capacity of 11500 MT of cold storage, 0.75 MT/per Hr of IQF capacity and 68 Reefer Trucks, 8 Abattoir projects have also been sanctioned in North East States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim which are aimed at establishing modern Abattoirs and ensuring hygienic and scientific meat processing.

The Minister also informed that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has sanctioned six Food Testing Labs in the States of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura for creating infrastructure for food safety and quality testing.

The Minister informed that the FPI Ministry has taken up the issue of allowing 100% FDI in Multi Brand Retail for such food which is produced by the Indian farmers and food products that are manufactured in India.

Comment