National paddy processing research centre coming up at Thanjavur
15 Mar 2010
The Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC) at Thanjavur will be developed into a national institute, minister of food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
This follows recommendations of the expert committee headed by Pitam Chanda, assistant director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which had undertaken a review of the functioning of PPRC in 2006.
The committee had, among others, recommended that PPRC be upgraded to a national institute with a mandate and responsibility to address post harvest processing and value addition needs of the crops of wetlands and storm/cyclone/flood affected areas, including plantain crops, spices and other important crops.
Accordingly, PPRC is being upgraded as a national institute, at a total cost of Rs88.49 crore, with the approval of the competent authority. The institute had been renamed Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) from 18 February 2008.
The minister said construction of Phase-1A of the building of IICPT has been completed and was inaugurated on 6 March 2010. Construction of Phase 1B and Phase-II of the institute will be completed by December 2010.
IICPT is already functioning as a National Institute since 18 February 2008, he added.
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