Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, who is among the youngest faces in the latest Modi cabinet or Modi 3.0, has shared a roadmap for the food processing ministry assigned to him.
The future belongs to the food processing sector and will help increase farmers’ income, he told reporters after assuming charge this morning.
Expressing his commitment to the new role entrusted to him, the 41-year-old cabinet minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to take the department to new heights.
“If you see the involvement of food processing globally, India’s involvement is comparatively very less than global involvement in the food processing industry. In the coming times, there is unlimited scope in this field,” said Mr Paswan, emphasising the potential in India’s food processing sector.
He also shared his vision for the department that was helmed by his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, until his death in 2020. His uncle, Pashupati Paras, headed it for the rest of the Lok Sabha term.
“My own vision is focused on establishing more processing units so that farmers can get an appropriate amount for their produce and their income increases,” said Mr Paswan.
The food processing sector in foreign countries are more advanced, said the newly appointed minister and hoped to achieve similar progress in India.
“In foreign countries, several works are done through processing units only, whereas we have not been able to achieve it yet. So, I hope, just like my father, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, I will contribute 100 per cent to it,” he said.
He also said that PM Modi has assured him of support in elevating the department’s status. “When I met him, the Prime Minister assured me that in the future, we will take this department to new heights,” he said.