With an aim to boost the food processing sector, the government has approved 13 proposals for setting up of mega food parks, which provides different facilities to food processors, farmers, retailers and exporters in various parts of the country including rural areas, during the current Five Year Plan period. Consequently, each of these mega food parks is likely to create direct and indirect employment for about 30,000 persons. These mega food parks are currently in the process of implementation.
The states where these mega food parks will come up are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand (one each) and Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra (two each).
Earlier, the government had approved some modifications in the guidelines of the mega food park scheme to increase investment in the food processing sector. The modifications, which include allowing the central government agencies to hold more than 26% equity in the mega food park, would streamline the implementation of the scheme.
In March 2015, the government had allocated the development of 17 mega food parks across the country to state governments and private firms at a cost of Rs 2,030 crore, of which the central government grant was estimated at Rs 850 crore.