New food processing policy soon, says Yogi

“Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of production of wheat, sugarcane, mango, potato, peas, mushroom, watermelon, milk and honey, says CM

LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday stated that the new food processing policy will be introduced soon and address all issues raised by MSME entrepreneurs. He also urged entrepreneurs to be ready for the Global Investors Summit (GIS), which will be organized by the state government in February.

The CM said a proposal for giving export subsidies was also under consideration. (File Photo)

“When we discuss Uttar Pradesh, it is the state with the largest population in the country. It also has the most fertile land. UP is a state with 12% of the country’s cultivable land. Despite this fact, around 20% of the country’s foodgrains are produced by farmers of the state,” he said while addressing the three-day Agro-MSME expo at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here.

“Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of production of wheat, sugarcane, mango, potato, peas, mushroom, watermelon, milk and honey,” said the CM.

He added: “We will seriously consider proposal to exempt such produce from mandi duty and cess. Under the new food processing policy, the government will consider interests of enterprises associated with the food processing industry.”

On the occasion, the chief minister also assured to come up with a new policy for various sectors of the industry.

Assuring to promote food processing, Adityanath said: “This will make it easier for farmers to fetch better prices by selling their crops directly to the processing sector.”

On the law and order situation in the state, Adityanath said: “Prior to 2017, the state’s MSME industry was on the verge of closure. Industrialists were looking for investment in other states by closing their units here.”

He emphasised that the UP government had a zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals. “In addition to security, we also need to keep in mind fundamental amenities in order to attract investment, not only for entrepreneurs, but for every citizen of the state,” asserted the CM.

“For this, we have worked on basic system within the state. Earlier, electricity was barely available for three to four hours. Now, we are providing electricity for 23 to 24 hours even at district headquarters. In rural areas, electricity is being given for 16 to 18 hours. There has been a radical change in the power supply system,” stated Adityanath.

Many agriculture products were recognized under ODOP, including Kala Namak rice of Siddharthnagar, which was regarded as the best rice in the world, said the CM.

Apart from this, desi ghee of Auraiya, jaggery of Ayodhya and Muzaffarnagar, jute of Ghazipur, banana of Kaushambi, banana fibre of Kushinagar, amla of Pratapgarh, moonj of Sultanpur, Dussehri mango of Lucknow and guava of Prayagraj show that how distinctive each district is in Uttar Pradesh, added the CM.

A proposal for giving export subsidies was also under consideration, said the CM.