Government Is Open To Amendments In GST For Food Processing, Niranjan Jyoti, MoS Ministry Of Food Processing
Speaking on the occasion of a conference on Globalizing Traditional Foods of India, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, MoS for Ministry of food processing said that foods like Rasgullas and Gulab Jamuns are eligible enough to make their space at the world food dome.
Replying to a question, the MD of Kellogs India and South Asia, Mohit Anand said, ‘Food is not global.’ He continued and said that to make a food commercially sellable, we have to make it local and that is how a food cannot be termed as global. He said it took a giant like Kellogs to take 14 long years to start getting revenues in the Indian market. Sighting a foreign research, Mohit had termed Idli as the best balanced food for breakfast. We need to put the best marketing minds to globalize Indian traditional snacks and foods continued Mohit.
Founder of Pepperboat, a new natural fruit juice brand, Neeraj Kakkar said that I had to act like a superman to save our traditional ‘Aam Pana (flavoured mango pulp)’ from the world outside and it worked for me. He asked the world to come to India and eat with us to get indulged in our taste habits. Kakkar was focusing on paperboats success story and the challenges he had to face as a start- up.
Manish Aggrawal, Director of Bikanerwala, another Indian Vegetarian food conglomerate recalled his journey from childhood to now in a traditional cooking and traditional food trader’s family. He said, change is synonymous to India which has given birth to several food varieties and different cooking styles along with different inputs to cook these foods.
Aggrawal also shared that the variety of snacks India can offer can be divided into two primary categories- Fresh Cooked like ‘samosas and pakodas, packed food like namkeens (dried lentils mixed with spices). He said that our traditional snacks can also take the place of pizza or burger.
Consensus
The panel which included another traditional Indian food conglomerate Haldiram foods and MTR, came to a common point of offering the convenience as a USP for Indian snacks and traditional foods. They had a very interesting observation of offering Indian food abroad at a convenient cost also, as most of the panellist observe that getting a food quality checked and exported to abroad specially Europe, is very difficult due to their difficult licencing issues. Though it is rather easy to open a preparation unit outside somewhere in Europe and sell through the same place. Both the aspects involve huge costs and all the Industrialists asked in chorus from government to work as a partner not as an Inspector.
Speaking with BW Businessworld, the MoS food processing ministry Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that government and PM is open for any suggestion from the other side of the policy makers to revive and imbibe new amendments in GST as and when they are required. She said that government is trying its best to offer the best to the industry so that they can offer their best to the society.
