The Government of India has strengthened its push to modernize the country’s food processing ecosystem by expanding support under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), a flagship programme designed to enhance value addition and reduce post-harvest losses across the agricultural supply chain.
Announcing the update in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh said the scheme—operational since 2017—continues to function as a demand-driven umbrella initiative supporting modern processing units, cold-chain networks, storage, packaging facilities, and food quality testing infrastructure through grant-in-aid assistance.
Government data shows that by December 31, 2025, a total of 1,607 projects had been sanctioned across PMKSY components, with 1,196 already completed or operational. These initiatives have collectively benefited more than 3.6 million farmers in regions ranging from Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir to Odisha’s Nabarangpur, helping improve farm-gate realisations and overall profitability.
To further accelerate sectoral growth, the Union Cabinet has cleared an additional ₹1,000-crore allocation for the programme. The new funding earmarks ₹500 crore each for establishing 50 multi-product food irradiation facilities and 100 food testing laboratories—key infrastructure expected to strengthen food safety standards and support processed food exports. Expressions of Interest for both components were issued in 2025 and remain open until February 2026.
Since launch, PMKSY-backed projects have generated close to 4.7 lakh jobs while reinforcing linkages between agricultural production zones and processing markets. The expanded investment is intended to deepen infrastructure availability, curb wastage after harvest, and create stronger income opportunities for farmers across the value chain.