Summary:
VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government signed 168 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the food processing sector on Sunday, the second day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit here.The food processing industry is proposing to invest Rs 3,424 crore in the sector, according to a statement from the summit organisers. Jamwal did not reveal where the plant was coming up, or the quantum of investment in the project by Tata Industries. The equipment, sourced from a company in the United States , would help in making cooked food into RTE stuff. However, he said that the project was B2C, or business-to-consumer type.Union food processing secretary J P Meena said Andhra Pradesh has some of the most “progressive” policies among Indian states in the food processing sector.Meena said the central government had created a special fund of Rs 2,000 crore, administered by Nabard, to help in the setting up of food parks in the country. The investment will create 48,298 jobs, it said.Meanwhile, Tata Industries Ltd, which has been tasked with piloting the business group’s entry into the high-tech sector, informed that its ready-to-eat (RTE) factory would be commissioned in Andhra Pradesh by the end of 2018.Speaking at a panel discussion on food processing industry, KRS Jamwal, executive director of Tata Industries, said the company has installed state-of-the-art equipment at its unit in Andhra Pradesh..