Food processing industry has huge potential to improve rural economy : Harsimrat

* Union food processing minister visits multi-product SEZ in Sri City
* Sri City is a jewel among the SEZs says the Minister

Chandigarh/Sri City (Chennai) – Union Food Processing Minister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal today exhorted the entrepreneurs that food processing industry has huge potential to improve rural economy and create livelihoods and asked the business tycoons to set up skill development centers where illiterate people could be trained in creating a huge employment opportunity in agro based units in the country.

During her visit to country’s leading integrated business city here on Saturday where Mrs Badal held an interactive meeting with the heads of the key food and beverage processing units in Sri City, which included Cadbury India, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Everton Tea, Premium Ingredients, Kalimark. She asked the food processing industrialists to devise low cost processes and preservation mechanisms so that rural people could preserve their food stuffs thereby contributing to the national economy by saving the food garins.

She also visited multi-product special economic zone (SEZ), domestic tariff zone (DTZ) and free trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) at Sri City including the processing plant of Kellogg’s and witnessed the blooming business environment in this Southern belt.

Impressed with the vastness, infrastructure and industry-friendly ambiance of Sri City, Mrs. Badal described Sri City as a jewel among various SEZs of India. Impressed with the facilities and opportunities at Sri city She said “without any hesitation I would recommend Sri City to entrepreneurs as the best destination for their investment”.

Stating that food processing industry has huge potential to improve rural economy and create livelihoods, she said, “I am confident that presence of leading industries in Sri City will not only enhance the employment opportunities in the region and also immensely benefit thousands of sugarcane farmers, mango, tomato growers, and milk producers in Chittoor district.”

It is mentioned here that Sri City is the largest multi-product SEZ in South India and envisioned and conceptualized as a world-class ‘integrated business city’ that includes a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for export oriented businesses and a Domestic Tariff Zone (DTZ) for businesses catering to the domestic market.

On the occasion Ravindra Sanna Reddy, Managing Director Sri City told that Mrs Badal was the first Union Minister to visit the Sri City. He gave a presentation on the infrastructural facilities and industrial progress at Sri City. Among others J.S.V. Prasad Principle Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh, Venkateswarlu, Joint Secretary Department of Food Processing, V. Varaprasad MP, T. Aditya MLA and other senior officials were also present. EOM