Ministry of Food Processing Industries
16-October, 2017 16:43 IST
“World Food India platform will strengthen India’s position as a Global Food Factory and is a positive step towards making the Country Food Secure” says Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal
India is poised to attract an investment target of roughly US$ 10 billion in food processing sector and generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years, says Smt. Badal
Minister of Food Processing Industries appeals to each individual to take a pledge – ‘NO WASTE ON MY PLATE’- to make India Food Secure
World Food India 2017 Expo to be held in New Delhi from 3rd-5th November 2017
Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal chaired the Curtain Raiser Press Conference held here today for the World Food India 2017 expo, a vibrant three-day business platform scheduled from 3rd-5th November, 2017 in New Delhi. As India gets ready to host its biggest food event aiming to transform the food economy and double farmers’ income, Smt. Badal gave a glimpse of the grandeur and the immensity of the event to industry leaders, heads of foreign missions and media in an interactive session. Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti also graced the occasion with her presence.
Outlining her vision for World Food India 2017, Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, “India is the second largest producer of food, leader in milk, fruits & vegetables, cereals and marine. It has a huge potential with 127 agro climatic zones and proximity to food importing nations. With a 1.3 billion population, and a retail sector that is set to treble by 2020, it offers a large demand driven market.” She affirmed that the Government of India is creating the right infrastructure - with schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, an enabling environment and an innovation culture to foster strategic partnerships in the food processing industry to create an advantage to all the stakeholders. World Food India 2017 provides that platform for global partnerships to achieve the said goal.
Thanking Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi for his vision and leadership, Smt Badal said the government is making all efforts to ensure food safety and security across the country. The Minister added that the event which will showcase the best infrastructure and technology from various countries will also help find effective solution to the challenges facing the food industry in India, ranging from food wastage to wastage of crops due to extreme climatic conditions. This, Smt Badal added will help in minimizing the challenges faced by the farmers of the country due to the environment factors and lack of direct contact with the market.
Smt. Badal also said that the potential of India in the food processing industry will be realized during this event. With World Food India 2017, the Minister said, India is poised to attract an investment target of roughly US$ 10 billion in food processing sector, which will generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years. She added that the World Food India platform will reinvigorate India’s position as a ‘Global Food Factory’ and a ‘Global Sourcing Hub’.
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, elaborating on the efforts taken to organize this grand event, expressed confidence in India’s food sector and the opportunity that it presents to the world. She added that this event would give recognition to India in the Food Processing sector globally and would reduce food wastage, increase food security and aid in generating employment as it would attract youth towards the sector.
Shri JP Meena Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries said this event will be one of the 1st International Mega Events to attract investment & trading in the Food Processing Sector in India. The event will showcase an exhibition and include special sessions, conferences and networking opportunities for the participants. More than 800 global & domestic exhibitors will be a part of the exhibition that will have a separate organic pavilion apart from special sections on cold chain, sectors. Another highlight is the section for Women Entrepreneurs in the food processing industry.
In a nutshell, the World Food India 2017 gears up to host over 2,000 participants, over 200 companies from 30 countries, 18 ministerial and business delegations, nearly 50 global CEOs along with CEOs of all leading domestic food processing companies, and representatives of 28 States in India, Shri Meena added.
Germany, Japan and Denmark are Partner Countries to World Food India whereas Italy & Netherlands are Focus Countries. They were represented by H.E Mr Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India; H.E Mr Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Ambassador of Denmark to India; H.E Mr Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India; H.E. Lorenzo Angeloni, Ambassador of Italy to India who expressed keenness to deepen their investment commitment to India, to enable mutual exchange of best practices, technology and to be a part of the revolution in the food processing industry which will take place in India.
CEOs and senior executives of leading Indian and global food chains including ITC, Walmart, Nestle, Kelloggs and Metro Cash & Carry India etc. present at the Curtain Raiser reinforced their commitment to wholeheartedly participate at the event and making it a success. It was unanimously observed that with one-sixth of World’s population and a vast pool of resources, India shoulders the responsibility to become the Global Food Value Chain Hub and the private industry players have an important part to play in this endeavor.
Referring to the softer aspects of food, Smt. Badal remarked, “With World Food India, we are inviting the World to come and refresh their experiences of Indian food, spices, ingredients and cuisines.” Curated by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the ‘Food Street’ is set to be World food India’s most attractive highlight. A brainchild of Smt. Badal, Food Street is an experiential platform that will bring together culinary practices, flavours, fragrances from the world's cuisines, and celebrate India's rich cultural heritage and diverse uniqueness of its produce to create contemporary renditions and fusion food. Addressing the event, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the brand ambassador and curator of Food Street said the secrets of the rich traditional Indian cuisines will be showcased during the event. This event will project India as the land of ‘Chhat-ras’ or the six flavours found in our cultural heritage, he added.
The Curtain raiser session coincided with the celebration of World Food Day, wherein Smt. Badal pledged to wage a war against food wastage with #NoWasteOnMyPlate campaign. The campaign lends itself to the strategic intervention that World Food India 2017 will provide in achieving two most critical goals of the Government - doubling farmers’ income by 2022 and reducing post-harvest losses by bringing together global and Indian leaders to collaborate and co-develop solutions across India’s food value chain.
The event is supported by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Development of North East Region, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation.
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
16-October, 2017 18:18 IST
Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey releases FSSAI report on Food Fortification
Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare released a comprehensive report on “Large Scale Food Fortification in India – The Journey So Far and Road Ahead” at the national ‘Conclave on Nutrition Security: Partnership & Convergence’ organized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on the occasion of World Food Day, here today. Shri Choubey also launched the food fortification website at the function. Smt. Preeti Sudan, Secretary, MoFPD and Secretary, MoHFW (Designate) and Smt. Vijaya Srivastava, Special Secretary and FA (MoHFW), were also present at the function.
Delivering the keynote address, Shri Choubey stated that it is not enough that the food is available but the food should be nutritious as well. He emphasized on the need to raise awareness about nutrition rich food and cautioned people against food adulteration.
At the function, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India introduced its new initiative ‘Indian Food Recovery Alliance (IFRA)’ – A coalition of food recovery partners in country to fight the issue of hunger and also prevent food loss and food wastage in India.
The food recovery partners showcased their existing models of food recovery and showcased an integrated web-based platform that is being developed. This web based platform, released on a pilot level, allows interested donors, individuals and volunteers to register themselves to be a part of this initiative. The donors will be able to track all the data, information and the status of the food they donate through their personal logins. This platform will also provide guidance to citizens, food businesses and various food recovery agencies on prevention of food loss and food waste, and safe recovery of surplus food.
During the conclave, FSSAI also discussed & reviewed the progress on food fortification so far, shared the experiences and key leanings and convened various stakeholders to discuss the way forward. Directives have been issued from the key Central Ministries and dynamic State government like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and UT Chandigarh have set up cross ministerial working groups. Development partners have pledged support with resources.
Through creating a network of networks from entities across sectors in India and leveraging the power of technology, FSSAI’s aim is to create an ease of communication among all the stakeholders so that everybody can take a step closer towards reducing food wastage in a uniform direction. With respect to fortification, the next phase involves wide consumer outreach to build awareness and sensitise people to the need for fortification.
Also present at the function were Shri Ashish Bahuguna, Chairperson, FSSAI, Shri Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI, along with other senior officers of the Ministry and representatives of development partners and civil society organizations.
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