National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management
Motto ज्ञान नवीनता बढ़ जाना(knowledge innovation outreach)
()
Type Public Institution
Established 2006
Endowment Public
Undergraduates 480
Postgraduates 180
Location Sonepat, Haryana, India India
Campus 100 acre
Website www.niftem.ac.in

The National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM[1]) is a newly established public institution for research, education and catering the need of various stakeholders, e.g. entrepreneurs, food processing industry, exporters, policy makers and government policy. The NIFTEM is being set up by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India at HSIIDC Industrial Estate, Kundli in Sonipat district of Haryana which comes under Delhi NCR. Shri Ajit Kumar,[2] Ex-Indian Administrative Service officer, is the director cum vice chancellor of this institute.

History


NIFTEM is the brainchild of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). MoFPI in its Vision document-2015, envisaged creation of an apex institution in food research and education equipped with global capabilities.

Food processing has an important role to play in linking Indian agriculture to consumers in the domestic and international markets. The agriculture sector in India contributes a fourth of the country’s GDP and provides employment to approximately two third of the population. However, its potential has not been tapped due to underdevelopment of the food processing sector in India.

World-class institutions for technology, management and entrepreneurship are a critical requirement for the growth of food processing industries. Existing R & D institutions have not been able to develop innovative products, processes and machinery of global stature as reflected in India’s share in global trade and limited commercial application. There is lack of world-class managerial talent and entrepreneurship with adequate technical background in food sciences and technology. The existing mechanism for setting food standards is inadequate in the context of the increasing importance of food hygiene and safety and evolution of international standards. Business Incubation services, a critical need to foster entrepreneurship in the food sector, are virtually absent in India. Further, the industry also faces the challenge of inadequate and outdated information on the industry such as demand and supply trends in the Indian and overseas markets, regulatory requirements etc.

Quantum increase in the level of processing and value addition of primary agriculture produce is of critical importance for enhancing farmers’ income, generating employment and reducing wastages, and to accomplish overall growth of the national economy. It is equally important to ensure global cost and quality competitiveness of processed food so as to access global markets where price realization is higher and India has a comparative advantage. Moreover, setting food standards and reliable testing protocols has become a matter of serious public concern. It is accordingly necessary to develop world class Food Scientists and Technologists who could do R&D in frontier areas, set food standards and develops protocols for testing, and also develop world-class entrepreneurs who undergo courses and training programmes having proper mix of inputs on food science, technology, management, entrepreneurship and business incubation. Vision, strategy and action plan document prepared by the Ministry (April,2005) aims to treble the size of food processing industry in next ten years by increasing the level of processing from 6% to 20%, value addition from 20% to 35% and share in global trade from 1.5% to 3%. The Ministry in its vision document – 2015, has emphasized the need for an apex institution to focus on these aspects.

The vision document-2015 recommended to set up a world class institution to cater to the needs of various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and existing institutions.

The Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) in its report (2004) had recommended creation of a National Institute of Technology and Management for taking care of human resource development needs of the FPIs’ and building effective partnerships among various stakeholders. Integrated strategy for the promotion of agri-business under Prime Minister's thrust areas envisaged setting up of such an institution.

DFRL at Mysore is to cater to the needs of the defence personnel. Only CFTRI is catering to the R&D needs of Food Processing Industries. CFTRI is focused on basic level research & training of local importance and is moreover located at Mysore in southern India. CFTRI focuses on applied research in food technology and lacks the comprehensive research focus in the food science arena. There is no institute in India to cater to the needs of its unique requirements.

Therefore, a new organization was required to be set up, with a structure and systems aligned with its objectives to be the apex institution in food research and education in the country having global capabilities.

The Finance Minister, in his Budget Speech on 28 February 2006 announced the intention of government to set up a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) as an international centre of excellence which will work synergistically with industry and other institutions within India and abroad.

Change in legal status The legal status of NIFTEM as a company registered under the Companies Act was creating hurdles in obtaining statutory recognitions from UGC & AICTE. Both UGC Act & AICTE Act provides that a Society registered under Societies Act or a Trust registered under Trust Act are eligible to obtain Deemed to be University status and recognition of technical courses respective from these regulatory bodies. Since the statutory recognitions are essential for the institute to commence its academic courses, the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 23/04/10 approved – (1) Registering NIFTEM as an autonomous organization under the Indian Society Act, 1860 (2) Transfer of all assets & liabilities of NIFTEM, as a section 25 Company, to the new NIFTEM Society and (3) Winding up of NIFTEM Company under the Indian Companies Act.

In pursuance of above decision of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has registered NIFTEM as a Society under the Society Registration Act, 1860 on 19/05/2010. The assets and liabilities of NIFTEM Company are being transferred to NIFTEM Society.

Obtaining Deemed To Be University Status After registration of NIFTEM as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, a formal application for grant of Deemed to be University status underDE NOVOCategory was submitted to Ministry of Human Resources Development/UGC in terms of UGC. (Institutions deemed to be Universities). Regulations, 2010 on 02.08.2010 & the proposal is under process in UGC

Brand Building Initiatives NIFTEM in collaboration with FICCI, CII and IICPTinitiated brand building initiative by organizing seminars/ workshops at various places across the country. 13 seminars/ workshops at Trichi, Chennai, Guwahati, Itanagar, Pune, Shimla, Agartalla, Ahmedabad, Banglore, Mumbai, Cochin, Jammu& Nasik have been organized. The responses were found to be overwhelming. NIFTEM has also participated in Punjab International Trade Expo held at Amritsar in December 2009 & in the 97th Indian Science Congress Mega Expo held at Thiruvananthapuram in January 2010.

Task Force Meeting On Course Curriculam Development A task force meeting of experts drawn from academia and industry was held in April 2010 to draft the course curriculum for UG courses. Based on the feedback received from the experts, draft structure of Course Curriculum was prepared and shared with more than 250 experts in India and abroad for their further input/comments. Based on the inputs received from some of the experts a final Course Curriculum document for UG Courses has been prepared and is being finalized.

Task Force Meeting On Infrastructure Development Of Laboratories Workshop on Infrastructure Development of Laboratories was organised in the month of June 2010 to finalise laboratory infrastructure requirement and Equipments. Based on the feedback received from experts a structured laboratory requirements along with extensive list of practicals to be done and equipments required semester-wise has been compiled and is being sent to experts for review.

The Institute


NIFTEM is the brainchild of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI). MoFPI in its Vision document-2015, envisaged creation of a world-class institution to cater to the various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and existing institution. NIFTEM would work actively in assisting in setting food standards, businesses incubation and information sharing. It would also be an apex institution in the field of food technology and management, networking and coordinating with other institutions in the same field.

NIFTEM is being established at Plot No. 97, Sector 56, Phase IV & V, HSIIDC Industrial Estate Kundli, District Sonipat, Haryana, as an international centre of excellence to cater to the needs of various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and existing institutions.

A Theme Centre

NIFTEM will have various “theme centres” with the aim of promoting thought leadership and innovation –driven practices in the key sector of food processing with strong sectoral/functional focus are planned. Each theme centre will have world-class manpower and infrastructure for research and training. The theme centres would benefit through long term associations with prominent international institutions, through a faculty exchange programme or joint research initiatives in various food processing areas such as dairy, seafood and wine.

Sectoral Theme Centres will ensure a comprehensive supply chain approach. The theme centres planned are:

Cross Sectoral theme centres would work closely with the other theme centres. These include:

Each theme centre would be headed by a Professor known for his expertise in that particular field, have Associate and Assistant Professors assisted by staff (such as research associates, administrative assistants). The theme centres would have visiting faculty members from international institutions or industry to undertake full-time courses. The Head, Professors and visiting faculty in the theme centre would be involved in teaching as well as research. They would be chosen on the basis of their expertise, interest, and active research programmes in areas pertinent to food science.

Linkages between theme centres

Resources across the theme centres would be pooled for contractual research work. Contract research delivery will require collaborative efforts of resources with relevant expertise from different theme centres

The programmes offered by NIFTEM (both student courses and short term EDP courses) would be cross sectoral and would require faculty from multiple theme centres to work closely for conducting the programme. Detailed schedule of courses for the year including the contact hours required for each faculty would be planned at the beginning of the year.

The agriculture sector in Indian contributes a fourth of the country’s GDP and provides employment to approximately two third of the population. However, its potential has not been tapped due to underdevelopment of the food processing sector in India. World-class institutions for technology, management and entrepreneurship are a critical requirement for the growth of food processing industries, since they would address the gaps in the current Indian scenario by developing world-class managerial talent and entrepreneurship with adequate technical background in foods sciences and technology; increase the importance of food hygiene and safety standards; facilitate business incubation services; and have market intelligence function of collecting and imparting information such as demand and supply trends in the Indian and overseas markets, etc.

Another critical role of NIFTEM would be to provide adequate operational independence to the food standards testing and safety department as this will be used as a national referral laboratory.

Collaboration with global institutions NIFTEM would actively collaborate with the world’s best institutions to promote development of path breaking technologies, which are globally relevant, Exposure of these institutions to global trends and industry needs will support in developing NIFTEM as an international centre of excellence. Some areas of collaboration would be:

Developing and strengthening research programmes (both fundamentals and applied) and their linkages with industry and end consumers.

Vision and mission

Vision

The vision for NIFTEM is to set up an International centre of excellence which integrates technological, managerial and behavioral aspects of the Indian food processing industry with the clear objective of catapulting the sector to the number one position in the world. Unlike the existing food science institutes in India, NIFTEM will function as a centre for integrated education, research, enterprise incubation and outreach in the area of food science, technology and business.

Experts believe that there will be significant economic gains from incubation and enterprise development, which can in turn catalyse the growth of the food processing sector in the national and international spheres by nurturing world class entrepreneurs.

“ To be an international center of excellence which integrates all facets of food technology, entrepreneurship and management and be recognized as the focal point for catalyzing the growth of the food processing industry in India in the global context. ”

Mission

NIFTEM would play a pivotal role in developing food standards, quality, accreditation and certification; keeping a repository of international & national standards and also advising the Government on matters related to international food standards. NIFTEM would be an apex information resource centre on aspects of food processing including information on products, technologies, management practices, food standards, markets etc., NIFTEM would specifically focus on providing comprehensive information to exporters in the food sector. NIFTEM would provide incubator services to enable entrepreneurs to develop sustainable businesses. On the strength of in-depth industry expertise provided by NIFTEM’s resources pool, which can in turn catalyze the growth of the food processing sector by nurturing world-class entrepreneurs.

Objectives

Board of Management

S.No. Name Position/Designation
1 Dr. Ajit Kumar, Vice Chancellor, NIFTEM Chairman
2 Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Director, IIT Delhi Member
3 Dr. Devi Singh, Director, IIM Lucknow Member
4 Dr. S.N Jha, Acting Director, CIPHET Ludhiana Member
5 Dr. Pawar, Dean(Academics), NIFTEM Member
6 Dr. Vijendra Mishra, Dean(Student WeLFARE), NIFTEM Member
7 Dr. Manjeet Aggarwal, Dean(Research), NIFTEM Member
8 Dr. Ashutosh Upadhyay, Associate Professor,NIFTEM Member
9 Shri. Tarun Bajaj, Managing Director,HSIIDC,Panchkula Member
10 Dr.M.V.Rao,President, Agri Biotech Foundation Member
11 Shri Sushil Kumar, Registrar, NIFTEM Secretary to the Board

Values

The core values of NIFTEM:

Division

NIFTEM Consultancy Division

NCD is acting as a Centralized Nodal Body, which will work synergistically with the industry and similar institutions within India and abroad. It resolves the problem by acquiring 360 degree approach to entire Food Processing Sector. It will cater to the needs of the booming food processing sector, various stakeholders such as entrepreneurs, industry, exporters, policy makers, government and research institutions.

Service Portfolio of NCD:NCD has a panel of consultants who are qualified to undertake assignments in:

NCD is committed to be always responsive to your needs, By serving with innovative solutions; it guides Entrepreneurs, Companies, Firms, Institutions to reach the prompt solutions to their Problems and to create New Edge Opportunities.

References

  1. ↑ "Home page of NIFTEM".
  2. ↑ "Board of Management, NIFTEM".
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.