Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal to sanction a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) in Odisha.
The present NIFTEM is a Deemed University under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) set up at Sonepat, Haryana, which provides excellent research and education to meet shortfall in the food processing sector.
The NIFTEM has no other campus in any other State. However, considering the immense potential of growth and employment in the food processing sector, the Odisha Government has approached the MoFPI for setting up a university.
Odisha, which has 10 Agro Climatic Zones, has a huge potential for the food processing sector. The State is not only surplus in production of rice but also in substantial output of maize, ginger, turmeric and seafood items. The State is scaling up its seafood sector by exporting prawns, crabs and other items.
The State Government recently unveiled the Odisha Food Processing Policy, 2016 to provide infrastructural support and fiscal incentives to MSMEs to enable them value addition and minimise wastage in the sector.
In order to provide ready-to-use infrastructure, the policy proposes to set up Mega State Food Parks at strategic locations in the districts of Deogarh, Bhadrak, Bargarh, Nabarangpur, Sambalpur, Ganjam, Boalangir, Kandhamal and Kalahandi.
The State Government now has its only Food Park at Khurda, which is operational with popular food processing units like Britannia, Indo-Nissan, ITC, Parle Agro and Coca Cola. The Central Government’s MITS Food Park at Rayagada has opened recently and would soon commence commercial operations.
A Sea Food Park at Deras Bhubaneswar is at an advanced stage of execution. The Eastern Nutriments limited is also in the process of developing another Food Park at Ramdaspur near Cuttack. Against this backdrop, Patnaik has urged Badal to set up an NIFTEM in Odisha to meet the requirement of skill forces in the food processing sector.
While the MoFPI is trying to develop the NIFTEM as a Centre of Excellence, opening of its campuses is not on the cards, said a senior official in the Ministry. However, once a proposal comes to the MoFPI, it would be reviewed and the Union Cabinet would take a final call on it as it needs huge investment, said sources.