The Assam Chief Minister inaugurated PepsiCo India’s ₹778-crore food manufacturing plant at Banekuchi in Nalbari. 

More About the News

• It is PepsiCo’s first food manufacturing plant in Assam and its fifth in India, spread across about 44.2 acres.
• The plant will manufacture Lay’s and Uncle Chipps and is expected to create around 700 direct and indirect employment opportunities, with more than 75% women representation in its workforce.

How will it benefit Assam?

The significance of the plant goes beyond manufacturing because it connects industry with agriculture.

• The facility will create an assured market for chip-grade potatoes, benefiting more than 5,000 farmers as the sourcing network expands.
• PepsiCo currently works with more than 600 farmers in Assam, providing support through quality seeds, agronomy, technology, training and market access.
• Potato procurement is expected to rise substantially, with the company targeting around 30,000 tonnes in 2027 and potentially 55,000–60,000 tonnes over the following three to five years.
• A nearby 10,000-tonne cold-storage facility, costing about ₹35 crore, is expected to strengthen the cold-chain infrastructure and reduce post-harvest losses.

Government Support and Policy Link

• The project is a private-sector industrial facility, with the Assam Government playing a facilitative role. 
• PepsiCo India is registered under the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme, 2024, which provides incentives such as capital investment support, interest subvention and manufacturing-linked incentives for industrial development in the Northeast.
• Farmers are also being linked with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, which aims to protect farmers against crop losses and stabilise agricultural income. 

Exam Hook

1. With reference to the PepsiCo food plant at Nalbari, consider the following statements:

1. It is PepsiCo India’s first food manufacturing plant in Assam.
2. The plant will strengthen Assam’s chip-grade potato value chain.
3. The project is linked with the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme, 2024.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: 1, 2 and 3

One-line Wrap: The Nalbari PepsiCo plant represents a shift from selling agricultural produce to building an integrated farm-to-food-processing value chain, combining industrial investment, farmer markets, cold storage and women’s employment in Assam.