Food Processing Ministry to curb wastage

The Food Processing Ministry has sought a nearly four-fold hike in its 12th Five-Year Plan outlay to Rs 15,000 crore to curb wastage of fruits and vegetables worth Rs 44,000 crore every year. “The amount of food wasted every year due to lower food processing potential is Rs 44,000 crore, which is more than the budgetary allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of Rs 40,000 crore for the 2011-12 fiscal,” confirmed an official with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. The ministry has sought the allocation of Rs 15,000 crore from the Planning Commission for running different progressive schemes in the 12th Five-Year Plan, as against Rs 4,000 crore in the current Plan (2007-12), the official added.