What is PMFME and which ministry runs it?

Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) is a centrally-sponsored scheme launched on 29 June 2020 by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It supports the formalisation, upgradation and expansion of existing unorganised micro food processing enterprises with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over 2020-21 to 2024-25, with cost-sharing of 50:50 between centre and general states, 60:40 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states, and 100% central funding for Union Territories without a legislature.

Who is eligible for the PMFME individual subsidy?

Existing micro food processing enterprises operating in the unorganised / informal segment are eligible if their annual turnover is below ₹3 crore. Proprietors, partnership firms and Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, Co-operatives and Producer Companies are all admissible under separate pathways. New units are permitted only under the SHG / FPO / Co-op pathway. Promoters must be 18 or older and the unit must be in formalisation-ready condition; GSTIN, Udyam registration and FSSAI licence are post-approval compliance asks.

How much capital subsidy does an individual unit receive?

Individual micro food processing units are eligible for a 35% credit-linked back-end capital subsidy on the eligible project cost, capped at ₹10 lakh per unit. The subsidy is released by the lending bank as a back-end adjustment against the term loan after disbursement and unit operationalisation, subject to verification by the State Nodal Agency and District Resource Person.

What is the seed capital support for Self-Help Groups?

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) engaged in food processing receive seed capital of ₹40,000 per member for working capital and procurement of small tools, subject to a ceiling of ₹4 lakh per SHG. This is in addition to the 35% capital subsidy that the SHG-led project can claim on its capital investment, with the cap determined by the approved Detailed Project Report (DPR).

What is the One District One Product (ODOP) approach?

PMFME follows a focused ODOP approach under which each of 707 districts has been mapped to a single agricultural / horticultural / fisheries / aquaculture / marine / dairy / poultry / minor forest produce — for example mango pulp, makhana, ragi, turmeric, banana fibre, marine fish or honey. Common infrastructure, branding, marketing, technology upgrade and capacity-building support are concentrated around the ODOP, while non-ODOP products are still admissible for individual capital subsidy on a case-by-case basis.

How do FPOs, SHGs and Co-operatives apply for project grants?

FPOs, SHGs, Co-operatives, Producer Companies and SPVs can apply for a 35% grant on capital investment for a single project (capital expenditure on plant, machinery and technical civil works), with the absolute cap derived from the approved DPR. They are also eligible for 50% grants for branding and marketing support at the state / district level — up to ₹50,000 per district group for ODOP-linked branding, packaging design, common trade-mark adoption and market linkages.

What is the ₹3 crore turnover ceiling and how is it verified?

The annual turnover ceiling of ₹3 crore separates the PMFME-eligible micro segment from the small / medium segment served by other MoFPI schemes such as PMKSY-PHCDS and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI). Turnover is self-declared at application and reconciled with GST returns and audited financials at the appraisal stage. Units that grow past ₹3 crore in subsequent years continue to enjoy the disbursed subsidy but cannot claim repeat assistance under PMFME.

How and where do I apply?

Applications are filed online on the PM FME MIS portal at pmfme.mofpi.gov.in. After registration, the applicant is matched with a District Resource Person (DRP) empanelled by the State Nodal Agency, who helps prepare the DPR, lender appraisal package and ODOP linkage notes. The bank sanctions the term loan, the State Nodal Agency vets the case, MoFPI releases the back-end subsidy, and the lender adjusts it against the loan on operationalisation. Handholding is free of cost to the applicant.

How does PMFME converge with other schemes?

PMFME explicitly converges with the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana for working-capital top-up, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) for the 3% interest subvention on term loans up to ₹2 crore, and Stand-Up India for SC/ST/woman first-time entrepreneur lending. Applicants are encouraged to stack PMFME capital subsidy with these instruments. KCC limits drawn for allied / processing activity (see our Kisan Credit Card guide) can also fund working capital alongside PMFME.

What are the scheme targets and where do I escalate?

PMFME targets ~75,000 individual micro enterprises, 800 FPOs, 60,000 SHGs and roughly 100 incubation / Common Incubation cum Research & Development (CIRD) nodes during its 2020-25 cycle. Grievances and queries can be routed through the PM FME MIS portal grievance module, the State Nodal Agency office, or escalated to MoFPI through the Ministry's helpdesk at mofpi.gov.in.

PMFME Guide — PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises: 35% Credit-Linked Subsidy, ODOP, SHG Seed Capital & Application Process

PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises)is the Ministry of Food Processing Industries' (MoFPI) centrally-sponsored scheme launched on 29 June 2020 under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. With a five-year outlay of ₹10,000 crore, it aims to formalise existing unorganised micro food processing units, upgrade their technology, and link them to organised markets through the One District One Product (ODOP) approach. This guide covers eligibility, the 35% credit-linked back-end capital subsidy, SHG seed capital, FPO / Co-operative grants, branding and marketing support, the application flow on pmfme.mofpi.gov.in, and how the scheme converges with credit instruments. For the wider portfolio see our India government schemes for farmers reference and the PMFBY crop-insurance deep-dive.

At a glance

Scheme type: centrally-sponsored credit-linked capital subsidy + capacity building for the micro food processing segment.
Launched: 29 June 2020 by MoFPI; cycle 2020-21 to 2024-25 with implementation continuing under the operational guidelines.
Outlay: ₹10,000 crore. Cost-share — 50:50 between centre and general states, 60:40 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states, and 100% central for Union Territories without a legislature.
Headline benefit: 35% credit-linked back-end capital subsidy, capped at ₹10 lakh per individual unit; ₹40,000 per SHG member seed capital (≤₹4 lakh per SHG); 35% grant for FPOs / SHGs / Co-ops / Producer Companies on a single project (cap as per approved DPR); 50% grant for branding & marketing.
Portal: pmfme.mofpi.gov.in — PM FME Management Information System (MIS).

Eligibility

PMFME's individual pathway is open to existing unorganised / informal micro food processing enterprises with an annual turnover below ₹3 crore that wish to formalise. Proprietors and partnership firms apply directly; promoters must be 18 or older. New units are not eligible under the individual pathway — they can join through the group pathway via a Self-Help Group (SHG), Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO), Co-operative or Producer Company. Compliance asks such as GSTIN, Udyam registration and an FSSAI licence are post-approval requirements — applicants do not need them to file the application but must obtain them before the subsidy is released to the bank.

Headline benefits

Individual units: 35% credit-linked back-end capital subsidy on eligible project cost, capped at ₹10 lakh per unit. Adjusted by the lending bank against the term loan after operationalisation.
SHG seed capital: ₹40,000 per member for working capital and small tools, capped at ₹4 lakh per SHG. Separate from the 35% capital subsidy.
FPOs / SHGs / Co-operatives / Producer Companies: 35% grant on capital investment for a single project (plant, machinery and technical civil works); absolute cap from the approved DPR.
Branding & marketing: 50% grant to FPOs / SHGs / Co-ops / SPVs at the state level — up to ₹50,000 per district group — covering common trade-mark adoption, packaging design and market linkages for the ODOP.
Incubation / Common Infrastructure: grants to state agencies and incubation / Common Incubation cum Research & Development (CIRD) nodes, with ~100 such nodes envisaged.

The One District One Product (ODOP) approach

PMFME deliberately concentrates capacity-building, branding and common infrastructure support around one ODOP per district. The Ministry has mapped 707 districts to a single perishable, cereal, spice, horticulture, fisheries, aquaculture, marine, dairy, poultry or minor forest produce — for example mango pulp, makhana, ragi, turmeric, banana fibre, marine fish or honey. ODOP-aligned applications receive priority for branding and marketing support and for state-level common infrastructure projects; non-ODOP products remain eligible for the individual 35% capital subsidy on a case-by-case basis.

Targets (2020-25 cycle)

~75,000 individual micro food processing enterprises formalised.
800 Farmer Producer Organisations supported with grants and capacity building.
60,000 Self-Help Groups receiving seed capital and project assistance.
~100 incubation / CIRD nodes set up at state agricultural universities, research institutes and FPO clusters — overlap with the directory in our universities and research institutes reference.

How to apply — step by step

Register on the PM FME MIS portal at pmfme.mofpi.gov.in with Aadhaar and a working mobile number / email.
The State Nodal Agency assigns a District Resource Person (DRP) who helps prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR), gather quotations and document the ODOP linkage.
The DPR is forwarded to the identified lender (a public-sector bank, regional rural bank, small finance bank, scheduled co-operative bank or NBFC empanelled under the scheme) for appraisal and term-loan sanction.
The State Nodal Agency vets the case; MoFPI releases the back-end subsidy to the lender once the unit is operationalised and verification is complete.
The lender adjusts the subsidy against the outstanding term-loan principal — this is what "credit-linked back-end" means.
Post-approval compliance: the unit must obtain GSTIN, Udyam registration and the relevant FSSAI licence before final subsidy release.

Convergence with credit and other schemes

PMFME is designed to be stacked with other public-finance instruments. The relevant convergences are:

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) — top-up working capital under the Shishu / Kishore / Tarun tranches for the same micro food processing unit.
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) — 3% interest subvention (max ₹2 crore loan) on long-term debt for post-harvest infrastructure that the PMFME unit may also need (e.g. cold storage, sorting line).
Stand-Up India — separate term-loan window for SC / ST / woman first-time entrepreneurs in the ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore range, which can carry the PMFME-eligible project.
Kisan Credit Card (KCC) — KCC limits for allied / processing activity can fund working capital alongside the PMFME term loan. See our KCC deep-dive guide.
PMKSY Per Drop More Crop — backward integration on the farm side; see our PMKSY-PDMC micro-irrigation guide for the on-farm component.
MIDH (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture) — for units processing fruits, vegetables and spices, MIDH funds the upstream nursery, orchard area expansion and pack-house cold chain that feed the PMFME line. See our MIDH guide.
Operation Greens (TOP → TOTAL) — for units processing perishables (Tomato, Onion, Potato and the 22 TOTAL crops), Operation Greens reimburses 50% of inbound transport and short-term storage cost from a surplus production cluster. See our Operation Greens guide.
APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) — for PMFME-formalised units targeting export markets, APEDA's Market Development, Infrastructure Development, Quality Development and Transport Assistance sub-schemes fund the extra layer of certification and freight support that export supply chains demand. See our APEDA guide.

Common reasons applications stall

Turnover above ₹3 crore at the latest audited financial — the case is out of PMFME's micro segment and must move to PMKSY-PHCDS or other MoFPI windows.
New unit applying under the individual pathway — only existing units qualify here; route the case via SHG / FPO / Co-op.
DPR not aligned with the district ODOP — admissible for the 35% capital subsidy, but branding and marketing support is not available.
FSSAI / Udyam / GSTIN not obtained by the time the unit is operationalised — subsidy release is held back.
Term loan not sanctioned — PMFME is strictly credit-linked; without bank finance the subsidy cannot be released.

Related farmer-welfare programmes

Pair the PMFME capital subsidy with a Kisan Credit Card for working-capital drawings, a PMFBY cover on the upstream raw-material crop, and on-farm water-use efficiency from PMKSY Per Drop More Crop. For technical handholding at the unit level, the network of state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes hosts many of the PMFME incubation / CIRD nodes, and our knowledge base carries crop-specific post-harvest and value-addition advisories.

References

pmfme.mofpi.gov.in — PM FME Management Information System: registration, DPR submission, status tracking, grievance.
Ministry of Food Processing Industries — scheme guidelines, ODOP master list, state-wise progress dashboards.
Press Information Bureau (PIB) — 29 June 2020 launch press release, Cabinet approvals and progress notes.
State Nodal Agencies and District Resource Persons (DRPs) — first port of call for handholding; contact directory on pmfme.mofpi.gov.in.

Frequently asked questions

What is PMFME and which ministry runs it?: Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) is a centrally-sponsored scheme launched on 29 June 2020 by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. It supports the formalisation, upgradation and expansion of existing unorganised micro food processing enterprises with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over 2020-21 to 2024-25, with cost-sharing of 50:50 between centre and general states, 60:40 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states, and 100% central funding for Union Territories without a legislature.
Who is eligible for the PMFME individual subsidy?: Existing micro food processing enterprises operating in the unorganised / informal segment are eligible if their annual turnover is below ₹3 crore. Proprietors, partnership firms and Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, Co-operatives and Producer Companies are all admissible under separate pathways. New units are permitted only under the SHG / FPO / Co-op pathway. Promoters must be 18 or older and the unit must be in formalisation-ready condition; GSTIN, Udyam registration and FSSAI licence are post-approval compliance asks.
How much capital subsidy does an individual unit receive?: Individual micro food processing units are eligible for a 35% credit-linked back-end capital subsidy on the eligible project cost, capped at ₹10 lakh per unit. The subsidy is released by the lending bank as a back-end adjustment against the term loan after disbursement and unit operationalisation, subject to verification by the State Nodal Agency and District Resource Person.
What is the seed capital support for Self-Help Groups?: Self-Help Groups (SHGs) engaged in food processing receive seed capital of ₹40,000 per member for working capital and procurement of small tools, subject to a ceiling of ₹4 lakh per SHG. This is in addition to the 35% capital subsidy that the SHG-led project can claim on its capital investment, with the cap determined by the approved Detailed Project Report (DPR).
What is the One District One Product (ODOP) approach?: PMFME follows a focused ODOP approach under which each of 707 districts has been mapped to a single agricultural / horticultural / fisheries / aquaculture / marine / dairy / poultry / minor forest produce — for example mango pulp, makhana, ragi, turmeric, banana fibre, marine fish or honey. Common infrastructure, branding, marketing, technology upgrade and capacity-building support are concentrated around the ODOP, while non-ODOP products are still admissible for individual capital subsidy on a case-by-case basis.
How do FPOs, SHGs and Co-operatives apply for project grants?: FPOs, SHGs, Co-operatives, Producer Companies and SPVs can apply for a 35% grant on capital investment for a single project (capital expenditure on plant, machinery and technical civil works), with the absolute cap derived from the approved DPR. They are also eligible for 50% grants for branding and marketing support at the state / district level — up to ₹50,000 per district group for ODOP-linked branding, packaging design, common trade-mark adoption and market linkages.
What is the ₹3 crore turnover ceiling and how is it verified?: The annual turnover ceiling of ₹3 crore separates the PMFME-eligible micro segment from the small / medium segment served by other MoFPI schemes such as PMKSY-PHCDS and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI). Turnover is self-declared at application and reconciled with GST returns and audited financials at the appraisal stage. Units that grow past ₹3 crore in subsequent years continue to enjoy the disbursed subsidy but cannot claim repeat assistance under PMFME.
How and where do I apply?: Applications are filed online on the PM FME MIS portal at pmfme.mofpi.gov.in. After registration, the applicant is matched with a District Resource Person (DRP) empanelled by the State Nodal Agency, who helps prepare the DPR, lender appraisal package and ODOP linkage notes. The bank sanctions the term loan, the State Nodal Agency vets the case, MoFPI releases the back-end subsidy, and the lender adjusts it against the loan on operationalisation. Handholding is free of cost to the applicant.
How does PMFME converge with other schemes?: PMFME explicitly converges with the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana for working-capital top-up, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) for the 3% interest subvention on term loans up to ₹2 crore, and Stand-Up India for SC/ST/woman first-time entrepreneur lending. Applicants are encouraged to stack PMFME capital subsidy with these instruments. KCC limits drawn for allied / processing activity (see our Kisan Credit Card guide) can also fund working capital alongside PMFME.
What are the scheme targets and where do I escalate?: PMFME targets ~75,000 individual micro enterprises, 800 FPOs, 60,000 SHGs and roughly 100 incubation / Common Incubation cum Research & Development (CIRD) nodes during its 2020-25 cycle. Grievances and queries can be routed through the PM FME MIS portal grievance module, the State Nodal Agency office, or escalated to MoFPI through the Ministry's helpdesk at mofpi.gov.in.

Subsidy rates, ceilings and target numbers above summarise publicly available PMFME operational guidelines on pmfme.mofpi.gov.in and MoFPI circulars. Cost-share ratios, ODOP mappings and compliance requirements are revised periodically; applicants should verify current terms on the official portal or with their State Nodal Agency / DRP before filing a DPR or claiming the back-end subsidy.