India is a market place for global food processing industry, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is a market place for global food processing industry, saying the country is rapidly progressing on global ranking for investments and business. He was speaking at World Food India programme 2017 in Delhi.

PM Modi said, "Food processing is a way of life in India. It has been practised for ages. Simple, home-based techniques, such as fermentation, have resulted in the creation of our famous pickles, papads, chutneys and murabbas that excite both the elite and the masses across the world."

"Our farmers are central to our efforts in food processing. We launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana to create world-class food processing infrastructure. This will leverage the investment of US 5 billion dollars , benefit 2 million farmers and create more than half million jobs," he said. PM reiterated that India has jumped 30 ranks this year in the World Bank Doing Business rankings. Also, he underscored India's improvements in other global indexes.

" India ranked number 1 in the world in greenfield investment in 2016. India is also rapidly progressing on the Global Innovation Index, Global Logistics Index and Global Competitiveness Index," he added. He further said that private sector participation has been increasing in many segments of the value chain. "However, more investment is required in contract farming, raw material sourcing and creating agri-linkages. This is a clear opportunity for global chains," he added.