What are the major constraints of food grain processing in India?
India's food grain processing sector faces several significant constraints that limit its efficiency and potential.
Outdated Technology and Infrastructure: Many processing units, especially in rural areas, use old, inefficient machinery, leading to high processing losses and poor quality output. Modern storage and milling infrastructure is often lacking.
High Post-Harvest Losses: Inadequate storage facilities (both at farm and institutional levels) and inefficient transportation contribute to substantial losses of food grains before they even reach processing units.
Lack of Value Addition: A significant portion of food grains is still processed into basic products (flour, rice). Limited infrastructure and expertise for advanced value-added processing (e.g., ready-to-eat meals, fortified products) reduces potential farmer income and market opportunities.
Fragmented Supply Chains: Disjointed supply chains, with numerous intermediaries, lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and lack of traceability, hindering direct sourcing for processors.
Inadequate Access to Finance: Small and medium-sized processing units often struggle to access institutional credit for modernization, expansion, or working capital.
Quality Control and Food Safety: Inconsistent quality standards, coupled with insufficient food safety regulations and enforcement, impact marketability and export potential.
Skill Gap: A shortage of skilled personnel in modern processing techniques, quality management, and food technology.
Answered By:
Define cell cycle. Describe different types and phases of cell cycle.
Briefly discuss significant features of heterosis and explain the dominance and overdominance hypotheses of heterosis, giving their main features.
Define Marker-Assisted Selection and give suitable examples. Discuss the applications of marker-assisted selection in recurrent selection, gene pyramiding and QTL introgression.
Define 'Grow-out test'. Explain briefly the methods of roguing in seed fields.
Classify plant mineral nutrients based on biochemical functions. How do excess minerals in the soil limit the plant growth?
Explain mutagenesis with its classification. Discuss briefly the mechanisms of action of alkylating agents and azide mutagens in crop improvement.
Give an account on double haploid and its applications in plant breeding. Also discuss the production methods of haploid.
What do you mean by Intellectual Property? Discuss the protection of Intellectual Property Rights in reference to patent, plant breeders' rights and copyright.
Why do fruit plants need to be propagated vegetatively? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual propagation.
Define genetic purity. How can the maintenance of genetic purity of varieties be done outside their normal cultivation area?
How will you manage a case of misplaced copper-T (Cu-T)?
Describe the embryogenesis, clinical features and principles of management of cleft palate.
Write short notes in 150 words:
Metagenesis
Write short notes in 150 words:
Book lungs
Write short notes in 150 words:
Paedomorphosis