Dilli Bakes Beyond Delhi

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in association with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), launched the first ‘One District, One Product’(ODOP) – ‘Dilli Bakes’ – in the bakery products category of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme on October 29 (Friday) at Panchsheel Bhawan, New Delhi.

The brand was launched in the august presence of Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Pashupati Kumar Paras, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel and Sanjeev Kumar Chadha, MD, NAFED.

The brand and the product have been exclusively developed under the ODOP concept for the bakery which is one of the ODOPs for Delhi. This is the first product, i.e., whole wheat rusks launched under the Dilli Bakes brand and will be followed by launch of more products.

According to NAFED, the whole wheat rusks is a unique product as it is made with jaggery instead of sugar and contains butter instead of vanaspati. The 260gm pack is competitively priced at M.R.P. Rs. 60 for the benefit of consumers and is available in unique and attractive packaging that keeps moisture and sunlight at bay, thus ensuring longer shelf life of the product and keeping it crispier and fresh.

Under the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing industries had signed an MoU with NAFED for developing ten brands of the selected ODOPs under the branding & marketing component of the scheme.

Through this initiative, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, in association with NAFED under the PMFME scheme, aims at sending a strong and encouraging message to the micro food processing enterprises (MFPEs) across the country about the vision, efforts and initiatives of the Government to formalise, upgrade and strengthen them taking them a step closer to Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Dilli Bakes Products will be available at all NAFED Bazaars, E-commerce platforms, and prominent retail stores across India.

PMFME Scheme

Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the PMFME Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.

With an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the scheme envisions to directly assist the 2,00,000 micro food processing units for providing financial, technical, and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.

ODOP

The scheme adopts the 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.

ODOP for the scheme will provide the framework for value chain development and alignment of support infrastructure. There may be more than one cluster of ODOP products in one district. There may be a cluster of ODOP products consisting of more than one adjacent district in a State.

The States would identify the food product for a district, keeping in perspective the focus of the scheme on perishables. A baseline study would be carried out by the State Government.

The ODOP product could be a perishable Agri produce, cereal-based product, or a food product widely produced in a district and their allied sectors. An illustrative list of such products includes mango, potato, litchi, tomato, tapioca, kinnu, bhujia, petha, papad, pickle, millet-based products, fisheries, poultry, meat as well as animal feed among others.

Besides, certain other traditional and innovative products including waste to wealth products could be supported under the Scheme. For example, honey, minor forest products in tribal areas, traditional Indian herbal edible items like turmeric, amla, haldi, etc.

Support for agricultural products would be for their processing along with efforts to reduce wastage, proper assaying, and storage and marketing.

For providing support existing individual micro-units for capital investment, preference would be given to those producing ODOP products. However, existing units producing other products would also be supported. In the case of capital investment by groups, predominately those involved in ODOP products would be supported.

Support to groups processing other products in such districts would only be for those already processing those products and with adequate technical, financial, and entrepreneurial strength. New units, whether for individuals or groups would only be supported for ODOP products.

Support for common infrastructure and marketing & branding would only be for ODOP products. In case of support for marketing & branding at the State or regional level, the same products of districts not having that product as ODOP could also be included.

It may be noted that the Department of Commerce is focusing on agriculture crops on a cluster approach for support for exports under the Agriculture Export Policy, and the Ministry of Agriculture is also focusing on a cluster approach for the development of specific agriproducts in districts having a comparative advantage.

The ODOP approach of the scheme would lead to easing in providing common facilities and other support services.