57% dip in FDI in food processing sector

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the food processing sector plummeted 57% year-on-year to US$ 393.4 million (around Rs 2,926 crore) in 2020-21. The sector received FDI worth US$ 393.4 million in 2020-21 as against USD 904.7 million in the previous year.

“As per extant policy, 100 per cent FDI for FPI sector is permitted under the automatic route implying that no prior approval of the Government or RBI is required. As per the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Indian recipient company has to report the inflow of FDI to Reserve Bank of India,” the minister said. He added that the ministry has been implementing Central Sector Umbrella Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for overall growth and development of the food processing sector, including processing of agroproducts and thus increasing the income of farmers.