The Indian government has launched a major initiative to promote commercial food-industry research in the country.

Admitting a lack of focus on research and development has slowed the growth of the food processing sector in India, the country’s government today (29 June) told a conference in New Delhi that it is planning to promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) on commercially-focused food R&D.

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Dr Thirumalachari Ramasami, secretary at the Indian government’s ministry of science and technology, told the event – organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and India’s ministry of food processing industries – that government and industry should identify areas of potential for research PPPs. He predicted this could increase the value of India-made food products by 10-15%.

Dr Ramasami observed most India-based food processing companies had neither the capacity nor funds for R&D. “It is therefore vital to create system for absorption of technologies through models that are most suited to these enterprises,” he said.

Also at the conference – staged to boost food R&D in India – Ashok Sinha, secretary for the Indian government’s food processing industries ministry, said his ministry was preparing a “masterplan for the food processing sector” for consideration by the government’s 12th Five Year Plan planning commission.

Sinha also urged industry representatives to identify food sub-sectors that could undertake more R&D.

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The assistant secretary general of India’s top industry body welcomed the potential development of an Indian commercial food research and development strategy.

Speaking to just-food, Sameer Berde, assistant secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the initiative was essential because existing research rarely creates new products or manufacturing processes.

“Right now there is not even a yardstick to gauge if the government should fund a particular research project or not,” Berde said.

He said that a particular challenge was making healthy food products that Indians find tasty – currently consumers tended to regard the two qualities as mutually exclusive.