Parliament Question: Agro Processing Clusters in Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 813 ANSWERED ON 23RD JULY 2026 AGRO PROCESSING CLUSTERS IN UTTAR PRADESH

813. SHRI DEVESH SHAKYA:

SHRI LALJI VERMA:

MRS RUCHI VIRA:

SHRI NEERAJ MAURYA:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

(a) whether a number of approved 'Agro Processing Clusters' in Uttar Pradesh particularly Etah and Kasganj have been limited to function only as 'cold storage' units and processing work therein has not started yet in the absence of technical experts, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the cold chain operations have turned expensive due to erratic power supply in several areas of Uttar Pradesh including the eastern and Bundelkhand regions, Etah and Kasganj forcing small farmers to sell their produce at throwaway prices instead of being able to properly and safely store the same, if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the local entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh including Etah and Kasganj are facing huge bureaucratic hurdles and complex paperwork in getting 'bank loans' for setting up Agro Processing Units despite a nationally allocated budget of Rs. 6,520 crore, if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the details of 'Agro Clusters' that have been physically created but are currently not operational with any farmer group or startup? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)

(a) to (d): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing a Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters (APC), a component scheme of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since 2017. The scheme aims to develop modern infrastructure with certain capital-intensive facilities like cold storages, blast freezers, specialized packaging, IQF, warehousing etc., for encouraging entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on the cluster approach. The APC is demand driven scheme not State/district specific. Further, there is no provision for setting up of standalone cold storage under the APC scheme. As on date, there is no project approved in Etah and Kasganj districts in the State of Uttar Pradesh under APC scheme. However, Ministry has approved two agro processing clusters in the State of Uttar Pradesh under the scheme, which have been completed. The details of these two projects is attached as Annexure.

*****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 813 FOR ANSWER ON 23rd JULY 2026 REGARDING “AGRO PROCESSING CLUSTERS IN UTTAR PRADESH” S. Name of the PDistrDate Projec Grant/SubTotal Gran N roject Executiict of ap t cost (sidy Appr t/Subsidy r Major core processing faci o. on Agency (P provaIn Cr. oved (in C eleased (in lities EA) l ) r.) Cr.) 1 M/s Govindgre Multi Commodity Cold Stor Kanp en Foods Infra 06.04. age, Ripening Chambers, Dr ur D 34.31 9.02 7.114 tech 2018 y Warehouse, Sorting and G ehat rading Line 2 M/s CRD Foo Cold Storage, Frozen Cham Math07.12.

ds 21.05 10.00 9.729 ber, Quality Control and Foo ura 2018 d Testing Lab *****