Govt’s proposed non-banking finance company (NBFC), especially dedicated to the food processing sector, is likely to be operational by the end of current year, according to Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
As part of its future roadmap, the request for proposal (RFP) is to be made public in the current month itself.
“The RFP is supposed to be floated this month and I had a meeting with the Finance Ministry yesterday (Thursday) for some clarification on expenditure. There is a lot of interest from the private sector not only nationally but also globally to invest in the entity. We are looking at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore,” Badal said on Friday.
According to the Minister of Food Processing, the need for such an exclusive funding platform was long felt by the food processing sector since the existing banks and financial institutions tend to do not fully understand the risk assessment of food processing companies and the sector loses out in terms of loans.
Taking into account the nitty-gritty of the food processing sector in the country, Badal added that the would-be agency, to be named as Agro Processing Financial Institution, would essentially be a lending agency driven by private sector, where the government will have a stake – to the tune of 20 per cent.
