Below Centre’s Agro Processing Clusters scheme — solely 2 out of 70 initiatives full, a minimum of 30 working not on time | Enterprise Information

As per an earlier report in The Indian Categorical, the agricultural land acquired final 12 months by Pleasure East Entertainments for the aim of organising an agro processing cluster is mendacity fallow. The corporate, by which Assam CM’s spouse Riniki Sarma is a director, was granted approval below the APC scheme in November final 12 months for a grant of Rs 10 crore. On Friday, Sarma filed a defamation go well with towards Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi for alleging that her firm acquired a subsidy of Rs 10 crore from the central authorities below the APC scheme.

A subcomponent of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sampada Yojana scheme, beneficiaries below the APC scheme are given as much as Rs 10 crore in three phases of grants to arrange an agro processing cluster for a minimum of 5 meals processing items with a minimal funding of Rs 25 crore. Beneficiaries are required to both personal 10 acres of land or lease an equal measurement for a minimum of 50 years. The price of land isn’t eligible for inclusion within the complete venture value.

The Ministry of Meals Processing Industries proposed a complete outlay of Rs 584 crore for the scheme in the course of the fifteenth Finance Fee cycle together with dedicated legal responsibility for ongoing initiatives. Since 2019-20, a complete of Rs 193 crore have been launched by the ministry as grants-in-aid for the authorised initiatives. For a similar interval, a complete of Rs 297 crore have been authorised for the scheme.

By an agro processing cluster, the scheme intends to facilitate the organising of primary infrastructure together with roads and drainage, and customary services for meals processing items together with warehouses and chilly storages.

The ministry authorised 15 initiatives in 2018, adopted by 13 in 2019, then 14 in 2020, 7 in 2021, and 21 in 2022. As per the ministry’s Annual Report 2022-23, a complete of 79 initiatives had been authorised. The quantity is now right down to 70 initiatives as a few of them had been both withdrawn or cancelled.

As per the scheme’s tips, initiatives are required to be completed inside 2 years from the date of approval for many states, with an exception of hilly states which have an extended timeframe of two.5 years. Moreover, a 6-month extension could be sought by initiatives, nonetheless that will result in a discount within the complete quantity of grants-in-aid authorised. The scheme additionally has provisions for extensions as a result of occasions of pressure majeure, like pandemics. Extensions as a result of occasions of pressure majeure are exempt from discount within the grants-in-aid authorised.

In accordance with the ministry, delays in initiatives have been as a result of time-consuming processes like change of land use, Consent to Set up from air pollution management boards, and sanction of time period mortgage by lending financial institution/monetary establishments. “Additional, 2 waves of Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the implementation of initiatives all through the nation for round one & a half 12 months,” the ministry responded when The Indian Categorical reached out for feedback.

The APC scheme is a modified model of the ministry’s Mega Meals Parks (MFP) scheme which was discontinued in 2021 because it couldn’t obtain its desired outcomes. In response to an unstarred query within the Lok Sabha in March this 12 months, MoS for Meals Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel replied, “APC scheme has related goal as MFPs i.e. to create widespread fashionable meals processing/ preservation infrastructure services for the meals processing/ preservation items, although at comparatively smaller scale.”

Versus the MFP scheme which requires beneficiaries to own a minimal of fifty acres of land, the APC scheme solely requires 10 acres. Equally, the variety of meals processing items required to be arrange below the MFP scheme is 25-30 versus a minimum of 5 below the APC scheme.

Below the MFP scheme, which continues to assist initiatives authorised previous to discontinuation, the ministry launched grants-in-aid price Rs 240 crore between 2019-20 and 2021-22. As of April this 12 months, 6 initiatives that benefited from the scheme are full and operational, 18 are operational, and 17 are below implementation. Because the scheme’s inception in 2008, a complete of Rs 1,465 crore have been launched as grants-in-aid, with Rs 391 crore gone to initiatives nonetheless below implementation.

In 2020-21, KPMG Advisory Providers performed an affect analysis research of the MFP scheme for the ministry and “highlighted a number of gaps and indicated that the scheme couldn’t in a position to obtain desired outcomes”. It “beneficial to critically evaluate and relaunch the scheme with vital modifications. Alternatively, design a brand new scheme (in session with trade and different stakeholders) that enhances the present Mega Meals Park initiatives and accelerates the promotion of meals processing sector within the nation”.

In July 2015, Indian Council for Analysis on Worldwide Financial Relations (ICRIER) submitted a report back to the ministry on the analysis of the affect of the MFP scheme. The report famous that meals processing items weren’t being arrange in operational meals parks as “the lease or the lease quantity for these services can also be anticipated to be excessive” for any potential unit to contemplate shifting to the meals park. The report additionally beneficial that the time-frame of a venture needs to be elevated, notably asking the ministry to “take into account revising the time-frame to as much as 5 years”. Lastly, it additionally identified that the requirement of fifty acres of land be decreased and that of 25-30 meals processing items be made versatile.

An earlier report on the MFP scheme ready by the Centre for Market Analysis and Social Improvement for the ministry in 2012 said causes for delays in venture completion. In accordance with the report, main causes for delays had been as a result of processes associated to vary of land use and sanction of time period loans.

Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, India’s meals processing sector reported development of 10.3% versus 5.1% within the total manufacturing sector. A KPMG report on India’s meals processing trade launched in 2021 famous that “in comparison with the developed economies and different BRICS nations, India’s share of value-added merchandise i.e. processed meals in exports is low”. In accordance with the report, from 2016 to 2019, there was no development within the share of processed meals exports in India’s complete meals exports which remained stagnant at 31%. Compared, the share for China in 2019 was 52%, for Mexico 50%, and for Brazil 34%.