India’s Food Processing Sector: Overview
- India’s food processing sector has emerged as a critical pillar of the agricultural and manufacturing ecosystem. Gross Value Added (GVA) in the sector increased from ₹1.34 lakh crore (2014-15) to ₹2.24 lakh crore (2023-24).
- The share of processed food exports in agricultural exports grew from 7% (2014-15) to 20.4% (2024-25).
- India is the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, giving it significant potential as a global food processing hub.
About Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)
| Objectives | Support Global Champions: Creating massive food manufacturing entities commensurate with India’s natural resources. Global Visibility: Strengthening Indian food brands for wider international acceptance. Employment: Increasing off-farm job opportunities, targeting approximately 2.5 lakh jobs by 2026-27. Farmer Support: Ensuring remunerative prices for farm produce and higher income for farmers |
| Launch Year | 2021 (part of broader PLI Scheme launched in April 2020 covering 14 sectors with ₹1.97 lakh crore outlay) |
| Type | Central Sector Scheme |
| Outlay | ₹10,900 crore |
| Nodal Ministry | Ministry of Food Processing Industries |
| Duration | FY 2021–22 to 2026–27 |
| Targeted Segments | RTE/RTC foods, Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese; also promotes SME innovation and international branding |
| Output Target | ₹33,494 crore processed food output and employment of 2.5 lakh persons by 2026–27 |
Components:- | |
| Category I | Incentivising manufacturing of four major food product segments — RTC/RTE foods (including millet-based products), Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, and Mozzarella Cheese. |
| Category II | Incentivising Innovative/Organic products of SMEs across all four segments, including Free Range Eggs, Poultry Meat & Egg Products. |
| Category III | Support for branding and marketing abroad — reimbursing 50% of branding/marketing expenses, capped at 3% of annual food product sales or ₹50 crore per year (whichever is lower). Minimum spend of ₹5 crore over five years required. |
| PLISMBP (Additional Component) | Carved out from PLISFPI savings in FY 2022-23 with an outlay of ₹800 crore to incentivise use of millets in RTC/RTE products |
| Implementation Framework:- | |
| Implementation Agency | Project Management Agency (PMA): IFCI Ltd., appointed by MoFPI |
| Application Process | Online portal (plimofpi.ifciltd.com) via Expression of Interest (EOI) mechanism |
| Monitoring Mechanism | Web-based MIS system for continuous online monitoring |
Key Performance Highlights (as of February 2026)
- Total approved applications: 165 across categories | Project locations: 274
- Investment reported: ₹9,207 crore
- Incentives disbursed: ₹2,162.55 crore
- Processing capacity added: 34 lakh MT per annum
- Employment generated: ~3.39 lakh (direct + indirect), surpassing the target of 2.5 lakh
- MSME applicants approved: 69 | Contract manufacturing MSMEs: 40
- MSME incentives disbursed: ₹13.266 crore to 20 eligible MSMEs (as of 28 Feb 2025)
- Export CAGR (2019-20 to 2024-25): 23%
- Cumulative export sales (April 2021-September 2025): ₹89,053.44 crore