Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan on Saturday presided over a special event in New Delhi to celebrate a historic milestone under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme: the sanction of loans to more than two lakh micro food processing enterprises. The milestone has leveraged project investments of over Rs 20,300 crore. Nearly 90 percent of beneficiaries are first-generation entrepreneurs and 44 percent are women entrepreneurs. Over 75,000 PMFME-supported enterprises have entered the formal economy through registrations such as Udyam Aadhaar, Udyam Assist, FSSAI and GST. The scheme has generated nearly 11 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities, according to an official release.
Event Highlights and Key Publications
The programme was attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), along with representatives from state governments, partner ministries, banking institutions, development partners, entrepreneurs, and members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The event featured the release of key publications highlighting the scheme's achievements, sharing of success stories by entrepreneurs, and interactions between the Minister and PMFME beneficiaries.
End-to-End Support for Micro Food Processors
In his welcome address, Devesh Deval, Joint Secretary, MoFPI, announced the launch of a nationwide multimedia awareness campaign. He conveyed the importance of the PMFME Scheme, which provides end-to-end support to micro food processing entrepreneurs — from financial assistance, training, handholding, branding and marketing to market linkage. He noted that "PMFME is not merely supporting enterprises — it is transforming livelihoods, strengthening local value chains and creating sustainable employment opportunities across the country."
Ecosystem for Micro Food Processing Sector
Delivering the address on behalf of the ministry, AP Das Joshi, Secretary, MoFPI, described the milestone as reflecting "the emergence of a stronger ecosystem for micro food processing sector in India," noting that PMFME combines finance, formalisation, technology, capacity building and market access into an integrated approach for enterprise development. He spoke of the scheme's network of District Resource Persons (DRPs), describing their work as reflecting "the successful convergence of Digital India and Ease of Doing Business at the grassroots level." Officials also highlighted the scheme's One District One Product (ODOP) approach and its support for 40 common brands covering nearly 200 products, building local value chains around products such as Makhana, millets, spices and GI-tagged products across the country.
Women-Led Development and State Performance
Addressing the gathering, Chirag Paswan said the achievement of two lakh beneficiaries "demonstrates that this vision is translating into measurable outcomes across the country," describing the participation of women entrepreneurs at nearly 44 percent of all beneficiaries as "the true spirit of women-led development, a cornerstone of Viksit Bharat." The Minister commended the performance of leading states including Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. He stated that the milestone "is therefore not merely a milestone to celebrate; it is a strong foundation upon which we will build the next phase of India's food processing growth story," and expressed appreciation to state governments, district administrations and field functionaries for transforming "a national policy into a grassroots movement for enterprise development."
Seed Capital Support and Training
The Minister also highlighted the scheme's Seed Capital support, under which more than 4.18 lakh Self Help Group members have been supported, and the ministry's network of 80 Common Incubation Centres approved across 27 states and Union Territories, of which 32 have been commissioned. More than 1.76 lakh beneficiaries have been trained under the scheme, of whom 77 percent are women. During the event, the Minister also felicitated the 2nd lakh beneficiary, Inderjeet Singh from Ranchi, Jharkhand, and handed over the sanction letter as well as a certificate.
Significance for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat
The achievement of over two lakh credit-linked beneficiaries marks a significant milestone in the Government of India's efforts to formalise and strengthen the micro food processing sector, and reaffirms the ministry's continued commitment to enterprise-led development under the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat @2047.
