Youth should become job creators, innovators: Chirag Paswan

New Delhi: India’s food processing sector offers immense opportunities and has the potential to play a major role in generating employment, promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening farmers’ incomes and enhancing India’s global presence, Union Minister Chirag Paswan said on Friday.

Addressing the Convocation of the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K), Paswan urged graduating students not to restrict themselves to becoming job seekers, but to emerge as job creators, innovators and solution providers.

The minister said that despite the progress made in recent years, the food processing sector continues to offer enormous, untapped potential. The sector can contribute simultaneously to better food quality, value addition, stronger economic opportunities for farmers, employment generation, and reduction of food wastage.

Urging students to think beyond conventional pathways, he urged them to use technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to find solutions to emerging challenges. He assured young innovators that the Government would support new ideas and initiatives aimed at strengthening the sector.

The minister also made a strong appeal for maintaining quality, stressing that there should be no compromise on quality in the food sector. He said that the quality of an Indian product affects not merely the reputation of an individual company, but also the standing of “Brand India” in global markets.

Paswan said India’s vast agricultural base, diversity of produce and large consumer market give the country the strength to emerge as a “Global Food Basket”. He underlined the need to take food value chains, processing facilities and technology closer to farms and rural areas so that the benefits of food processing reach producers at the grassroots.

Avinash Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, highlighted the wider role of food processing in reducing food wastage, enhancing nutrition and value addition, creating livelihood opportunities and encouraging entrepreneurship.

He emphasised the importance of developing skilled human resources and encouraging students and researchers to pursue ideas and innovations that can create value on a larger scale.

NIFTEM-K Director Dr Harinder Singh Oberoi said the institute has made significant progress in academics, research, infrastructure and industry partnerships.

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