On 28 June 2026, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan inaugurated an advanced Common Incubation Centre at the College of Food Technology, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, in Parbhani, Maharashtra. It was set up under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and the PMFME Scheme.

🏭 Common Incubation Centre

A Common Incubation Centre is a shared facility for food processing units offering training, product development and quality testing. Such centres provide micro and small enterprises access to modern processing technologies that they may not afford individually.

📜 PMFME Scheme

The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is a flagship scheme of MoFPI. It supports micro food processing units through formalisation, capacity building and access to common infrastructure.

⚙️ Processing Focus & Facilities

The Parbhani centre is designed for jaggery, sugarcane juice and spices processing units, supporting local value addition in agricultural produce, entrepreneur training and product testing.

  • Focus: jaggery, sugarcane juice and spices processing.
  • Supports local value addition in agricultural produce.
  • Provides entrepreneur training and product testing facilities.

On 30 May 2025, a Common Incubation Centre for coconut products was inaugurated at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, also established under the PMFME Scheme with MoFPI funding.

📌 Key Points (Important Facts for Exams)

• Inaugurated on 28 June 2026 by Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
• Location: VNMKV, Parbhani, Maharashtra.
• Set up under MoFPI and the PMFME Scheme.
• Focus areas: jaggery, sugarcane juice and spices processing.
• PMFME = Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme.

🎯 Conclusion

The Parbhani Common Incubation Centre strengthens India’s micro food processing ecosystem by giving small entrepreneurs shared access to modern technology, training and testing — boosting local value addition under the PMFME Scheme.

📝 Practice MCQs

Q1. Who inaugurated the Common Incubation Centre at Parbhani on 28 June 2026?

a) Narendra Modi
b) Chirag Paswan
c) Shivraj Singh Chouhan
d) Piyush Goyal
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Chirag Paswan (Union Minister for Food Processing Industries).

Q2. The Parbhani centre is located at which university?

a) Punjab Agricultural University
b) Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth
c) Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
d) IARI
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth.

Q3. Under which scheme was the centre established?

a) PM-KISAN
b) PMFME Scheme
c) PMEGP
d) PM GatiShakti
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) PMFME Scheme.

Q4. PMFME stands for:

a) Pradhan Mantri Food Manufacturing Enterprises
b) Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises
c) Prime Minister Farm Machinery Export
d) Pradhan Mantri Fisheries and Marine Enterprises
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises.

Q5. The Parbhani centre is in which state?

a) Gujarat
b) Maharashtra
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Karnataka
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Maharashtra.

Q6. The centre primarily focuses on processing which products?

a) Fish and meat
b) Jaggery, sugarcane juice and spices
c) Dairy products
d) Textiles
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Jaggery, sugarcane juice and spices.

Q7. The PMFME Scheme is a flagship scheme of which ministry?

a) Ministry of Agriculture
b) Ministry of Food Processing Industries
c) Ministry of Commerce
d) Ministry of Rural Development
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

Q8. A Common Incubation Centre typically provides:

a) Only loans
b) Processing, training and quality testing in one facility
c) Only marketing
d) Only cold storage
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Processing, training and quality testing in one facility.

Q9. The earlier related PMFME incubation centre (May 2025) for coconut products was at:

a) Kochi
b) Coimbatore (TNAU)
c) Mysuru
d) Mangaluru
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Q10. Common Incubation Centres mainly benefit which type of enterprises?

a) Large corporations
b) Micro and small food processing enterprises
c) IT companies
d) Automobile firms
👉 SHOW ANSWER ▼
✔ Correct Answer: (b) Micro and small food processing enterprises.

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