Grain Science and Technology Department
A centre of excellence in food grain quality, processing and product development, the department has been able to attain this status on the strength of its sustained endeavors and successive breakthroughs over the years. It actually opened in 1964 as Cereal and Confectionery Technology Department, and came to be called Rice and Pulse Technology Department and Cereal Science and Technology Department before acquiring its present name as Grain Science and Technology Department.

The department has achieved several breakthroughs such as:

• Novel process for parboiling paddy to enhance the nutritive value of rice
• Wide-ranging equipment such as mini-mills, versatile mills, hand-operated mills and hullers for the grain processing industry.
• Processes for ready mixes for many popular and traditional foods.
• Technology for processing coarse grains into valuable foods of mass consumption such as semolina and flakes and
• Rice bran stabilization
• The department is one of the important commodity-oriented technology units of CFTRI and is engaged in
• Basic research on the chemistry and quality of cereals and pulses and their products.
• Development and application of technologies for conservation, value-addition and product diversification for food uses of cereals and pulses.
• Assistance to food industries based on grains (cereals, millets and pulses) and promotion of entrepreneurial activities through innovative and improved technologies and technical services.

• Modern parboiling process by dry heat and hot soaking methods
• Curing of freshly harvested paddy
• Package for detection of adulteration in Basmati rice
• Quick cooking rice
• Rice bran stabilization
• Continuous cereal flaking system for rice, sorghum, maize, wheat and millets
• Schedule for paddy harvesting and drying
• Improvements to traditional rice-flaking process (Poha-making)

• Improved single huller
• Double huller
• Centrifugal sheller huller
• Mini rice mill
• Parboiling plant for paddy
• Heavy-duty cereal roller flaker
• Simple Dhal (split pulse) milling systems,
• Hand-/ machine-operated pulse de-husking machine
• Versatile mini Dhal mill
• Modern Dhal mill
• Gota separator
• Mini grain mill
• Hand-/leg-operated Papad press
• Small-scale and pilot-scale dry maize milling system
• Paddy crack detector
• Maize degerming and milling (small./large) plant
• Millet milling plant

• System for automation of grain-flaking
• Integrated rubber roll sheller huller
• Speciality food formulation for patients and elderly people
• Low-cost nutrition-supplementing food
• Pulse-based soup mixes
• Ragi malt-based beverage
• Millet malt-based confectionery

• Mega food parks
• Agri-infrastructure, supply chain aggregation, logistics and cold chain infrastructure
• Fruit and vegetable products
• Animal products, meat and dairy
• Fisheries and seafood
• Grains and cereals
• Packaged/ convenience goods/ready to eat food
• Wine and beer
• Machinery/Packaging
• Establishing infrastructure, cold chain, etc.

Policy Initiatives
Several policy initiatives have been taken from time to time to promote growth of the processed food sector in the country. Some of these are:

• Most of the processed food items have been exempted from the purview of licensing under the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951, except items reserved for small-scale sector and alcoholic beverages.
• Food processing industries were included in the list of priority sector for bank lending in 1999.
• Automatic approval for foreign equity upto 100% is available for most of the processed food items excepting alcohol and beer and those reserved for small scale sector subject to certain conditions.
• Excise duty on processed fruit and vegetables has been brought down from 16% to zero level in the Budget, 2001-02.
• In the Budget of 2004-05 income tax holiday and other concessions were announced for certain categories of food processing industries.
• In the Budget 2006-07 excise duty has been waived on condensed milk, ice cream, preparations of meat, fish and poultry, pectins, pasta and yeast. Excise duty on ready to eat packaged foods and instant food mixes, like dosa and idli mixes have been reduced from 16% to 8%. Excise duty on aerated drinks has been reduced from 24% to 16%. Fruit and vegetable processing units are already exempted from payment of excise duty.
• To ensure easy availability of credit, Government has included food processing industries in the list of priority sector for bank lending. NABARD has created a refinancing window with a corpus of Rupees one thousand crore for agro processing infrastructure and market development.
• Licensing powers have been delegated to regional offices under Fruit Products Order, 1955.
• In Budget 2007-08 excise duty has been waived on all kinds of food mixes including instant mixes, Soya Bari, (Food supplement) and ready to eat packaged foods and on Biscuits.
• Excise duty on reefer vans (refrigerated motor vehicles) has been reduced from 16% to 8%. Exemption limit of excise duty for small scale industry has been raised from Rs. 1.00 crore to 1.50 crores.
• Customs duty on refrigerated motor vehicles has been waived while customs duty on food processing machinery reduced from 7.5% to 5%. duty on sunflower oil (crude) reduced from 65% to 50% and on sunflower oil (refined) reduced from 75% to 60%.
• Special additional duty of 4% has been waived in the case of refined edible oil.
• Central sales tax reduced from 4% to 3%.
• All services provided by Technology Business Incubators and their Incubatees whose annual business turnover do not exceed Rs. 50 lakhs have been exempted from service tax for the first three years.

Developmental Initiatives

• Providing assistance under various Plan schemes to Food Processing Industries.
• Widening the R&D base in food processing by involvement of various D institutes and support to various D activities.
• Human Resource Development to meet the growing requirement of managers, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the food processing industry.
• Assistance for setting up analytical and testing laboratories, active participation in the laying down of food standards and their harmonization with international standards.
• Ministry has set up a national level institute called National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) at Kundli in Haryana. The Institute will be of international standards. Institute will start functioning from academic year beginning from July 2009.
• Sevottam, Charter mark in service delivery for excellence is being introduced in the Ministry.
• An Integrated Food Law i.e. ‘Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 has been notified on 24.08.2006. The Act will enable in removing multiplicity of food.
• Laws and regulatory agencies and will provide single window to food processing sector. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been designated as the nodal Ministry for administration and implementation of the Act.
• Decentralization of processing and disbursement of grant under Scheme for Technology Up gradation / expansion / modernization of food processing industries through Bank financial institutions.

Regulatory Initiatives

The Ministry regulates the fruit and meat processing industry through the following regulatory orders:

• Implementation of Fruit Products Order (FPO), 1955.
• Implementation of Meat Food Product Order (MFPO), 1973.

The exhibitor profile under the Rice and Grain Processing category includes

• Agriculture Equipments
• Bag Stitching Machines and Packing machinery
• Bearings
• Boilers
• Dryer Plant Companies
• Elevator Buckets
• Generators and Power Generating Units
• Grain Color Sorter machinery
• Lab equipments
• Motors
• Paddy Parboiling
• Perforated sheet material
• Rice exporters
• Rice Mill Machinery Manufacturers
• Rubber Rolls
• Silky Polishing Units
• Tarpaulin Companies
• V-Belts and Conveyer Beltings
• Other

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