Miller Magazine Issue 110 / February 2019

INDIA 85 MILLER / FEBRUARY 2019 15,000 dal mills in India, most of which have rather small capacities of 10-25 tons a day. However, a large number (over a quarter) have become old and inactive. At the same time, modern dal mills with capacities of 200-500 tons have come up in India recently to take advantage of growing demand for the grain, especially packaged and branded pulses. In addition to pulse split- ting, many of the mills produce chickpea flour (known as besan) for which there is tremendous demand across the country as it is used in many traditional food products including snacks. Although the country has strict food safety and stan- dards law, in many of the traditionally run milling units, the hygiene standards leave much to be desired. There is however a renewed consciousness about food safety and hygiene standards among mills because of rising consumer expectations. There is scope for capacity sca- le-up and modernization of many milling units in the country. There is a government of India scheme for fi- nancial assistance for modernization of grains and pul- ses milling with modern technology. One can witness rapidly expanding number of packa- ged and branded milled products available on store shel- ves. Basmati rice, wheat flour, semolina, dal, dal flour and other related products are now available in packa- ged and branded form which provides some kind of an assurance about quality. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in milling industry is permitted 100 percent under the automatic route. Many investors are exploring opportunities in India given its large size of the domestic market and opportunities of export to Asian and African neighbours. *G. Chandrashekhar, Economist, Senior Editor and Poli- cy Commentator, is a global agribusiness and commodities market specialist. Views are personal. He can be reached at gchandrashekhar@gmail.com India is an agrarian economy, and more than 52 percent of the land area is considered arab- le. India is among the highest-ranking count- ries in production volume for various com- modities like rice, wheat, cotton, and dairy. Agriculture and related sectors such as forestry and fisheries account for 17 percent of GDP though this has been declining since 1991. Agricultural related occupations, including those of the textile sector, account for roughly half of India’s labor market. Consequently, the agricultural sector plays an important role in Indian economics, politics and society. The agricultural sector is witnessing a shift from traditional farming to horticulture and to poultry and dairy production. The demand for fresh and processed products of all types is increasing as the population urbanizes, inco- mes rise, and consumption habits change. The growth of an efficient cold chain network from “farm to fork” will help curb the current spo- ilage rate of agricultural output while helping producers capture value as products retain qu- ality and give extra benefit to consumers. According to the latest survey of industries, there are 37,175 registered food processing units in the country. According to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the food proces- sing sector accounts for 1.7 percent of GDP. Agricultural sector plays an important role in India