HYDERABAD: The Telangana Food Processing Society (TGFPS) has intensified efforts to help urban Self Help Groups (SHGs) and micro food processors access government subsidies, asking municipal commissioners across the state to mobilise over 1,000 eligible applicants under the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy component of the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme.
Acting on instructions from the Industries and Commerce department, all Urban Local Bodies have been assigned mobilisation targets. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation tops the list with 354 beneficiaries, followed by Hanamkonda (62), Karimnagar (23), Mahbubnagar (22), Nizamabad, Adilabad and Bhadradri-Kothagudem (16 each), Suryapet, Nalgonda and Ramagundam (13 each), Khammam, Siddipet and Mancherial (12 each), Jagtial and Miryalaguda (11 each), Kamareddy (10) and other ULBs.
TGFPS is the state nodal agency for implementing the PMFME scheme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Under the scheme, individual micro food processing units are eligible for a credit-linked capital subsidy of 35% of the project cost for expansion or technology upgradation, capped at Rs 10 lakh per unit. Beneficiaries must contribute at least 10% of the project cost, with the balance financed through bank loans. SHG groups or members who have already availed seed capital under PMFME can also apply for the subsidy.
To facilitate implementation, TGFPS has appointed district resource persons to assist beneficiaries with project reports, loan processing and execution. The scheme aims to bring informal food processing units into the formal economy through better access to credit, technology, branding and market linkages.
In Telangana, officials said the focus on SHGs is expected to particularly benefit women entrepreneurs and boost incomes, employment and sustainability across the sector.