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Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Completes One Year.

Highlights

• Seed Capital worth Rs. 25.25 Cr. disbursed to State Rural Livelihood Mission under the scheme.
• Launched on 29th June 2020, the PMFME Scheme is currently being implemented in 35 States and Union Territories.
  
• The online portal for the application of the PMFME Scheme was made live on 25th January 2021.
  
• More than 9000 individual beneficiaries have registered on the portal, out of which more than 3500 applications have been successfully submitted under the scheme.

Milestones achieved under the PMFME Scheme

One District One Product

Under the One District One Product (ODOP) component of the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries approved ODOP for 707 districts for 35 States and UTs, including 137 unique products as per the recommendations received by States/UTs. 

Convergence

Under the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry signed three joint letters with the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 

Capacity Building and Incubation Centres

Under the Capacity Building component of the PMFME Scheme, the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) and the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) have been performing a key role in providing training and research support to selected enterprises/groups/clusters in partnership with the State Level Technical Institutions. The training of 371 Master Trainers has been conducted under the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) & various food domains.

Seed Capital

The component under PMFME for providing seed capital to SHGs is being implemented with the support of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and its network of State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLMs) operating at the state level. The PMFME Scheme envisages financial support of Rs. 40,000 for working capital and purchase of small tools for each member of SHGs engaged in food processing activities. To date, NRLM has recommended 43,086 SHG members to State Nodal Agencies (SNA) for an amount of Rs. 123.54 Cr. SNA has approved the seed capital of 8040 members and disbursed the amount of Rs. 25.25 Cr. to SRLM. 

Marketing and Branding

Under the scheme, MoUs have been signed with NAFED and TRIFED to take up the marketing and branding support for 10 products each. NAFED has selected products like Pineapple, Millet based products, Coriander, Makhana, Honey, Ragi, Bakery, Isabgol, Turmeric, and Cherry for branding and marketing support. TRIFED has selected products like Honey, Tamarind, Spices, Amla, Pulses/Grains/Millets, Custard Apple, Wild Mushroom, Cashew, Black Rice, and Wild Apple under the scheme.

Institutional Mechanism

All the 35 participating States and UTs have constituted/ identified their respective State Nodal Agencies, State Level Approval Committees, District Level Committees, and State Level Technical Institutions. Moreover, a call centre has been established at NIFTEM to address queries and guide the stakeholders of the Scheme.

Promotion and Publicity of the PMFME Scheme

 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries in collaboration with States/UTs and Agricultural Universities is conducting nationwide promotion and publicity of the PMFME Scheme to sensitize the stakeholders via radio, print media, offline workshops, webinars, regional language brochures/booklets, outdoor publicity, and over digital media via website, apps and social media platforms. The PMFME Scheme monthly e-newsletter is being sent to more than 5 lakh stakeholders. The PMFME Podcast series has been launched to interact with Agri-business incubators, industry experts, and startups.  

About the PMFME Scheme

Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain. 

Source: PIB