1.   

NABARD to offer loans to food processing industry at 9.5%

Rural development lender Nabard is likely to disburse loans, from the Rs 2,000 crore corpus allocated in budget, at interest rate of around 9.5 per cent to food processing industries. In this year's budget Finance Minister Arun Jaitely had allocated Rs 2,000 crore to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for the development of food processing sector in the country.

2.   

Oman, India to strengthen economic, services industry ties

Omani-Indian Joint Committee held on Wednesday at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India its seventh meeting and discussed strengthening of cooperation relations between the Sultanate and the friendly Republic of India, in various economic and service fields. Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, led the Omani side, while Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India, led the Indian side.

3.   

India must harness new policies to provide better nutrition: study

Economic growth is fuelling a protein revolution in global agriculture, with the demand for livestock, poultry and fish estimated to double by 2050, says a report by the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI). GHI’s Global Agricultural Productivity Report said livestock, poultry and fish will be the largest drivers of the world’s food economy, with 70 per cent of the increase coming from developing countries.

4.   

Ready-to-Cook industry Poised for a 20-25 per cent growth over next five years

Blame it on the fast-paced urban lifestyles, rising disposable incomes, experimental palates or the increasing number of working women in the country, the Ready-to-Cook food industry is on the upswing. The category has emerged as the next best alternative to a home cooked meal. The total processed foods market in India stands at Rs 1500 crore, out of which the Ready-to-Cook segment share is Rs 600-700 crore (barring noodles) and is expected to grow around 20-25 per cent over the next five years.