Thought For Food

In an exclusive interview, Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal talks about the transformation of the Indian food economy, the growth of the F&B industry and more

- Shafquat Ali

With the food revolution sweeping India, how are you improving the food-processing sector to try and match up to international standards? 

The mandate of my ministry is to promote creation of modern infrastructure for food processing. This is required to increase value addition, reduce wastage and to ensure safe and hygienic food for the consumers. As a step in this direction, my ministry is assisting creation of 42 mega food parks and 238 cold chains. Out of these, nine mega food parks, 102 cold chains are already operational. My target is to complete all the projects in next two-three years. We are also supporting setting up of food-testing labs. State-of-the-art infrastructure coupled with modern food testing labs would ensure that the food products produced from these projects match up to international standards.

India, according to you, is all set to become a Global Food Factory. How soon do you see this become a reality?