ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES OF INNOVATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY

This study analyzes the role played by food processing industries in India. With the advent of planned economy from 1951 and the subsequent industrial policy followed by Government of India, both planners and Government earmarked special role for small-scale industries and medium scale industries in the Indian economy. As per the Ministry of Food Processing Industry as data source, the food processing sector is highly fragmented industry, it widely comprises of the following sub-segments: fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products, beer and alcoholic beverages, meat and poultry, marine products, grain processing, packaged or convenience food and packaged drinks. A huge number of entrepreneurs in this industry are small in terms of their production and operations, and are largely concentrated in the unorganized segment. India is the world’s second largest producer of food after China but accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of international food trade. The total food production in India is likely to double in the next ten years and there is an opportunity for large investments in food and food processing technologies, skills and equipment, especially in areas of Canning, Dairy and Food Processing, Specialty Processing, Packaging and Frozen Food. India is a country of over 1.10 billion consumers, increasing urban population is also another factor for growth and there is a large untapped domestic market of consumers in the food processing sector.