Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Argo Processing Clusters (APC)

Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Argo Processing Clusters (APC)

Subject: Schemes

Section: Food

Context: Just two out of 70 projects approved under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries’ Agro Processing Clusters (APC) scheme are complete and operational as per latest government figures

• Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing the Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters (APC) under the Umbrella Scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) to incentivize  setting up of agro processing clusters in the country.
• Through an agro processing cluster, the scheme intends to facilitate the setting up of basic infrastructure including roads and drainage, and common facilities for food processing units including warehouses and cold storage
• Under the Scheme, processing/preservation infrastructure like cold storage, pre-cooling chambers, ripening chambers, IQF, specialized packaging, Food testing laboratory, cleaning/ grading/sorting and packing facilities, steam generation boilers, warehouses etc. are being created as part of cluster approach for use of food processing units to be / being set up under these projects.
• The Scheme envisages grants-in-aid @35% of eligible project cost in general areas and @50% of eligible project cost in the North East States (including Sikkim) and difficult areas namely Himalayan States/UTs (i.e. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Uttarakhand), State notified ITDP areas, Islands and SC/ST entrepreneurs subject to max. of Rs. 10.00 crore per project. Till date Ministry has approved 56 projects under the scheme.
• A subcomponent of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sampada Yojana scheme, beneficiaries under the APC scheme are given up to Rs 10 crore in three phases of grants to set up an agro processing cluster for at least 5 food processing units with a minimum investment of Rs 25 crore. Beneficiaries are required to either own 10 acres of land or lease an equivalent size for at least 50 years. The cost of land is not eligible for inclusion in the total project cost.
• Further, MoFPI has been implementing a separate scheme for development of Mega Food Parks (MFPs). So far, MoFPI has sanctioned 37 MFPs and given in-principle approval for 2 MFPs in the country.
• The APC scheme is a modified version of the ministry’s Mega Food Parks (MFP) scheme which was discontinued in 2021 as it could not achieve its desired outcomes.