| R&D and Human Resource Development |
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries gives special emphasis on supporting Research & Development (R&D) activity in the food-processing sector. Efforts have been made to widen the R&D base in food processing by involvement of various R&D institutions and by funding of laboratory/industry projects as well as purely industry projects. The thrust areas for R & D activities are as follows:
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Upgrading of traditional food technologies to ensure greater productivity, wider acceptability and quality assurance; |
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Energy saving technologies. |
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Improved and more precise methods to assess quality, safety and nutrition parameters in foods; |
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Import substitution for packaging materials and food additives; |
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Development of intermediate products and dehydrated products with superior shelf-life characteristics; |
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Development of newer and safer chemical / biological preservations with lesser costs; |
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Ways and means to economize on use of costly edible oils in food preparations; |
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Development of cost effective and efficient food processing machinery; |
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Convenience oriented intermediate products in the entire range of traditional foods, which need minimum preparation in the kitchen to make them ready-to-eat. |
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Speciality foods to meet the needs like low calorie, high calorie, high protein, lactose free, high fibre, low sodium, sugar free, geriatric, paediatric, pregnant & lactating, recuperating populations; |
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Frozen foods; |
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Modified atmosphere packed dressed vegetables, fruits, meat and fish; |
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Economic processing of industrial waste and recovery of by-products. |
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In the area of packaging development, some of the areas which need attention in future are :
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Hot filling of food products in plastic containers; |
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Package development for ready-to-eat foods; |
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Package development for traditional Indian milk based sweets; |
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Consumer packaging of meat and marine products; |
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Micro-ovenable packages |
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Retortable pouches for various food items; |
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Biodegradable packaging materials. |
ASSISTANCE TO R&D PROJECTS
R & D projects funded by the Ministry during the current year are as under :
- The Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore has been provided grant-in-aid of Rs. 5.25 lakhs for “Production of value added products from coarse grain”.
- Department of Food Technology and Bio-Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata has been provided Rs. 41.00 lakhs for undertaking a project on “Setting up demonstration unit for utilisation of low value fish to make value added products”.
- Defence Food Research Laboratory, Siddarthanagar, Mysore-570011, has been provided a Grant of Rs. 15.00 lakhs for the project on “Standardisation of Ragi based traditional food products and development of Ragi Cereals/Legume Blends based functional food”.
- Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin have been provided Rs. 6 lakhs for development of value added products from under utilised marine molluscs.
R & D Institution assisted by the Ministry
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
The Food Processing Industry is expected to grow rapidly. Consequently demand for trained manpower (viz. entrepreneurs, managers, technologists, skilled workers) to man the growing needs of the food processing industry will also surge. This is more so because the existing food industry will also require continuous technology up-gradation & diversification and new ways to manage & market in the face of global competition. Management of quality control systems will again require specially trained manpower. The organised food industry will particularly require highly trained managerial manpower. Developing entrepreneurs with variety of skills will be the key to rapid growth of food processing industries. With a view to extend the spread of food processing units in the remote areas closer to the raw material sources, there will be need for developing entrepreneurship in such areas for production, packaging and marketing of processed food products. In fact building high grade manpower to manage, innovate & build is one of the primary functions of the Government.
Paddy Processing Research Centre
The Paddy Processing Research Centre at Thanjavur is an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry. This centre was set up in December, 1984 as Society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act. The centre carries out basic research work on different applied aspects of rice processing and by product utilization like drying, storage, parboiling milling, bran stablisation and oil extraction etc. The center is fully funded by this Ministry. Currently the following projects are being handled at the centre:-
- Preparation of ready to eat food products based on rice and fruits.
- Process development for producing parboiled rice from paddy having characteristics similar to that from old paddy.
- Development of different management system to control psocids population in godown.
- Processing of brown rice for retention of nutrients.
- Pilot study on the production of protein enriched rice vermicelli.
- Influence of handling and processing conditions of paddy on production of Aflatoxin and detoxification.
Besides R&D projects, the PPRC had also conducted three training programmes for the benefit of rice millers, students from TNAU & State Govt. The scientist have also participated in exhibition, seminars and delivered radio talks.
It is proposed to upgrade the centre as a National Centre of Excellence to undertake R&D work in other areas of grain processing like cereals, pulses and oil seed besides paddy. It shall also be having ultra modern food analysis laboratories and fabrication Engineering facilities. Certificate/ diploma courses will be started for development of entrepreneurship. It will impart training to the millers, operators and managers from grain milling and processing industries. A detailed Project Report has been prepared and approved by its Management Board. The following is the implementation schedule:
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Planning and construction of building for new laboratories/divisions and training facilities, procurement of equipments to begin. |
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Second &
Third Year |
Construction work be completed, procurement of equipments and installation to continue, recruitment of scientists and technical staff, and beginning of training programme. |
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Fourth &
Fifth Year |
International collaboration, field demonstration, transfer of technology and residual works of construction / procurement / recruitment. |
Post Harvest Technology Centre (IIT) Kharagpur
Started in 1970, Post Harvest Technology Centre at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, offers training courses of long term duration leading to M.Tech, Ph.d & Post Doctoral Degree apart from short term courses for managers/ mill operators etc. At present 25 M.Tech, 10 Ph.d and 2 Post Doctoral fellows are under-going courses at the centre. The centre is also engaged in Research & Development work on the engineering aspects of the rice processing & by-product utilization etc. The centre further undertakes research & development project as per need of the industry and some of the industry sponsored projects are as under:-
- Development of Process and Machinery for Low & Intermediate Moisture Food, C. N. V. Industries Kolkata.
- Grain Processing & Preservation (M/s Indus Food Products & Equipments Ltd Kolkata).
- Development of IQF Tunnel Freezer with Liquid Nitrogen (M/s Triveni Food Products Pvt. Ltd Kolkata).
- Reduction of Energy Consumption & Storage losses in Cold Storage for Potato-Survey design improvements (West Bengal Cold Storage Association).
During the year the centre had also conducted two training programme on ‘Training of Food Processing and preservation’ to ladies self help group and ‘Efficient Utilization of Potato Cold Storage’.
ASSISTANCE TO HRD INSTITUTIONS
Ministry is operating a Scheme for assistance to HRD institutions for creation of infrastructure facilities in HRD institutions under which a grant up to Rs. 50 lakhs can be given to colleges, universities, technical institutions, etc., to create Infrastructural facilities like libraries, labs, pilot plants etc., for running degree/diploma courses, and training programmes for food processing. The Ministry has assisted following projects during the current year :-
- Ch. Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar has been provided grant of Rs. 44.9 lakhs for creating of Infrastructural facility for running training courses.
- Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalay has been provided grant of Rs. 25 lakhs for running B-Tech degree course.
ASSISTANCE TO CFTRI FOR TRAINING
Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore is providing training in the field of Grain Processing for value addition particularly in flour milling technology to the Candidates sponsored by Milling Industry in India and abroad. Every year intake is 20 persons for a duration of 9 months. The Institute is having a mill where the trainees have to be trained in plant for operation, maintenance etc. and the requirement of raw material is 600 T/annum. This raw material is procured from open market and the difference in open market rate and BPL price (Rs.3750/Tonne) is provided to CFTRI as grant in aid which for current year is Rs.24.90 lakhs. During last five years the Institute had trained about 100 participants from the Industry including foreign nationals from Nigeria, Vietnam, Sudan, Madagaskar, Zimbabwe, Mangolia, Uganda and Kazhakistan.
FOOD PROCESSING & TRAINING CENTRES(FPTCs)
In order to develop skill and entrepreneurship particularly in fruit and vegetable processing in rural areas, the Ministry has provided assistance for setting up of 326 Food Processing Training Centres (FPTCs) during the period 1992-93 to 2000-2001. An amount of Rs. 11.26 crores has been released as grant-in-aid to these centres. More than 10,000 trainees are estimated to have received the training in these FPTCs. Many of the trainees have established their own processing units in tiny/small scale sector. The Scheme has been reviewed and procedure streamlined to ensure better implementation & monitoring by the Ministry and also to see that the implementing organisations impart quality training and adhere to financial discipline. The Scheme with revised procedure is being implemented since October, 2001.
Trainees at the Food Processing & Training Centre
CONDUCT OF ENTREPENEURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (EDP)
This year, the Ministry formulated detailed guidelines for conducting EDPs indicating its objectives, duration, number of trainees, course contents, criteria for selection of trainees, composition of selection committee, selection procedure, break-up of expenditure heads, follow up and monitoring.
The Ministry has provided financial assistance for organising EDPs in food processing industries to the following organisation to identify prospective entrepreneurs, train them adequately and promote potential investment opportunities.
- MERG Development Trust, Chengalpattu Taluk, for conduct of one EDP at chengalpattu Taluk, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
- Madhya Pradesh Consultancy Organisation for conduct of four EDPs at Bhatapara, Rajnandgaon, Ambikapur & Korba in the state of Chhatisgarh.
- Federation of Indian Industrial Women Entrepreneurs for conduct of one EDP at Chennai.
- Small Industries Product Promotion Organization for conduct of two EDPs at Madurai and Ottanchathram.
- Himachal Pradesh Centre for Entrepreneurship Development for conduct of two EDPs at Solan and Sirmaur.
- Tripura Small Industries Corporation Ltd for conduct of one EDP at Agartala.
- NGO’s Coordination Federation (Jammu& Kashmir) for conduct of one EDP at Srinagar.
- Centre for Entrepreneur Development, Madurai for conduct of three EDPs at Tiruvannamalai, Trichy and Vellupuram.
- Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, Govt. of U.P. for conduct of five EDPs in the State during 2001-2002.
- North India Technical Consultancy Organisation for conduct of three EDPs at Mukatsar, Abohar & Bhatinda.
- Madhya Pradesh Consultancy Organisation Ltd. for conduct of five EDPs at Guna, Rajgarh, Ujjain, Betul & Dhar.
- Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai, for conduct of one EDP at Mumbai.
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