• 14 February 2016

Juice manufacturing facility in Morshi, orange ‘unnati’ to generate employment

This project is expected to benefit 10,000 farmers with an average landholding of two acres each. With an estimated investment of 635 crore the project will create employment opportunities for over 500 people. 14 February 2016, 9:05 AM IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Sterlite signed an MoU on the first day of the Make in India week. Sterlite proposes to set up FAB units in Vidarbha and Marathwada. "It will be the biggest ever investment in backward Vidarbha and Marathwada. It will help in industrial development of the neglected regions," a senior bureaucrat told TOI.

"Both regions had been neglected for long and as a result, there was huge backlog in all sectors. Under the leadership of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, we now expect balanced development of the state," he said.

The bureaucrat said the agreement with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of The Coca Cola Company in India with the state government and Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd aims, to uplift farmers by setting up a juice manufacturing facility in Morshi tehsil in Amravati and support them in the cultivation of Indian orange with the adoption of ultra high density plantation (UHDP) technique to increase yield.

Project Orange "Unnati" intends to give higher value to orange growers and generate gainful employment. Project Orange "Unnati" also unlocks prospects of leveraging Noga (Nagpur Orange Grower Association), a subsidiary company of state government. This project is expected to benefit 10,000 farmers with an average landholding of two acres each. With an estimated investment of 635 crore the project will create employment opportunities for over 500 people.

The project seeks to create a juice processing and juice bottling line for manufacturing orange/mosambi juice concentrates using crops grown locally in Maharashtra.

On the Raymond MoU for 1,400 crore, the bureaucrat said it will set up a project at Nandgaonpeth in Amravati district. The unit is expected to generate direct employment for 8,100 persons.