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NIFTEM is the brainchild of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). MoFPI in its Vision document-2015, envisaged creation of a world-class institution to cater to the various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and existing institution. NIFTEM would work actively in assisting in setting food standards, businesses incubation and information sharing. It would also be an apex institution in the field of food technology and management, networking and coordinating with other institutions in the same field.

NIFTEM is being established at Plot No. 97, Sector 56, Phase IV & V, HSIIDC Industrial Estate Kundli, District Sonipat, Haryana, as an international center of excellence to cater to the needs of various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and existing institutions.

A Theme Centre

NIFTEM will have various “theme centres” with the aim of promoting thought leadership and innovation –driven practices in the key sector of food processing with strong sectoral/functional focus are planned. Each theme centre will have world-class manpower and infrastructure for research and training. The theme centres would benefit through long term associations with prominent international institutions, through a faculty exchange programme or joint research initiatives in various food processing areas such as dairy, seafood and wine.

Sectoral Theme Centres Sector focused theme centres will ensure a comprehensive supply chain approach. The theme centres planned are:

Dairy Cereal based products Animal protein Fruits and vegetable based foods Beverages Confectionery Cross Sectoral theme centres The cross sectoral theme centres would work closely with the other theme centres. These include:

Management studies / business incubation Trade / Knowledge management / Networking Packaging and Engineering Food standards, Testing and Safety Biotech Nutrition Culinary Science Each theme centre would be headed by a Professor known for his expertise in that particular field, have Associate and Assistant Professors assisted by staff (such as research associates, administrative assistants). The theme centres would have visiting faculty members from international institutions or industry to undertake full-time courses. The Head, Professors and visiting faculty in the theme centre would be involved in teaching as well as research. They would be chosen on the basis of their expertise, interest, and active research programmes in areas pertinent to food science. Linkages between theme centres Resources across the theme centres would be pooled for contractual research work. Contract research delivery will require collaborative efforts of resources with relevant expertise from different theme centres

The programmes offered by NIFTEM (both student courses and short term EDP courses) would be cross sectoral and would require faculty from multiple theme centres to work closely for conducting the programme. Detailed schedule of courses for the year including the contact hours required for each faculty would be planned at the beginning of the year.

The agriculture sector in Indian contributes a fourth of the country’s GDP and provides employment to approximately two third of the population. However, its potential has not been tapped due to underdevelopment of the food processing sector in India. World-class institutions for technology, management and entrepreneurship are a critical requirement for the growth of food processing industries, since they would address the gaps in the current Indian scenario by developing world-class managerial talent and entrepreneurship with adequate technical background in foods sciences and technology; increase the importance of food hygiene and safety standards; facilitate business incubation services; and have market intelligence function of collecting and imparting information such as demand and supply trends in the Indian and overseas markets, etc.

Another critical role of NIFTEM would be to provide adequate operational independence to the food standards testing and safety department as this will be used as a national referral laboratory.

Collaboration with global institutions NIFTEM would actively collaborate with the world’s best institutions to promote development of path breaking technologies, which are globally relevant, Exposure of these institutions to global trends and industry needs will support in developing NIFTEM as an international centre of excellence. Some areas of collaboration would be:

Course design /content and faculty exchange Expertise in research and development in various food sectors Business incubation Food standards, testing and safety Consumer research and information sharing Assist in setting up of the themes centres Developing and strengthening research programmes (both fundamentals and applied) and their linkages with industry and end consumers.