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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3265
ANSWERED ON 20TH MARCH, 2026
PROMOTION OF FOOD PROCESSING CLUSTERS AND PMFME
IMPLEMENTATION IN BIHAR
3265. SHRI AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH:
Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:
(a) the number of micro food processing units in Bihar supported under the PM Formalisation
of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme since 2023;
(b) whether Patna and surrounding districts have been identified for cluster-based development
of agro-processing units;
(c) the total financial assistance sanctioned and disbursed to beneficiaries in Bihar under
credit-linked subsidies and seed capital support; and
(d) the steps taken to strengthen value addition, cold chain infrastructure and market
linkage support for small food processing entrepreneurs in the State?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
(SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)
(a): Under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME)
Scheme, loans for 25,634 micro food processing enterprises have been sanctioned under Credit
Linked Subsidy component, in the State of Bihar since 2023.
(b): The PMFME Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap the
benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of
products. For the State of Bihar, ODOP has been identified for all the 38 districts including Patna
and surrounding districts. However, the scheme is demand driven and is implemented through
State/ UT Governments. Any interested individual/entity may avail the benefit for upgradation of
existing or setting up of new micro-food processing facility, in accordance with the scheme
guidelines.
(c): Since inception of the scheme, under the Credit Linked Subsidy component of the PMFME
Scheme, loans for 28,648 micro food processing enterprises have been sanctioned with approved
subsidy of Rs. 660.88 crore out of which subsidy of Rs. 425.28 crore has been released as on 31st
December 2025. For the Seed capital component, Rs. 86.30 crore for 24,254 Self Help Group
(SHG) Members have been sanctioned and disbursed.
(d): To promote value addition, the scheme provides credit-linked capital subsidy of 35% of
eligible project cost (up to ₹10 lakh) for setting up/ upgradation of micro food processing
enterprises, along with seed capital support up to ₹40,000 per SHG member, as per eligibility.For strengthening infrastructure, support is extended for Incubation Centre and creation of
common infrastructure facilities, including processing units, warehouses, cold storages and other
value chain infrastructure facilities. The scheme also provides grant-in-aid through its Branding
and Marketing support to help groups with limited market access to boost the visibility and sales
of their products. This is achieved through strategic tie-ups with regional and national retail chains.
For this, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal
has been done on 14th November, 2024 to facilitate marketing of products manufactured by the
units supported under PMFME Scheme. For the State of Bihar, 1 proposal of branding & marketing
have been approved till 31st December 2025.
In addition to this, Ministry has taken various initiatives / measures to increase the
scheme’s uptake and to create awareness among the various stakeholders and public at large
through National & State level awareness campaigns such as Newspaper advertisements, Radio
Jingles, Exhibitions & Expos, Fairs, Buyer-Seller Meets etc. since the inception of the scheme.
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