C areer A venues Production Managers Project Implementation Marketing and Sales Personnel Sensory Evaluation Quality Assurance Research and Development, Product Development Project Financing Project Appraisal Teaching and Research Entrepreneurship Development Consultancy Technical Marketing of products With globalisation, Indian shores have opened up to foreign investments and technologies. As a result, many foreign companies and multinational companies are setting up their production, R&D, educational and outsourcing facilities in our country. Thus there is ample scope for food technologists/scientists in Indian as well as foreign organisations. Also, food processing industry provides good opportunity for export of products.
Employment exchanges will also be strengthened and upgraded. Self Employment Avenues : Food processing in India has always been practised as household or cottage scale activity. Despite lack of basic training in food processing operations, sweets, papads, murrabas, pickles, fried snacks, roasted and puffed cereals were prepared and marketed for local consumption. Now with the growth in agriculture, horticulture and pisiculture, the production of raw material has improved.
Also the Government is giving incentives and support for enterpreneurs who want to start their own enterprise by way of providing finances, training, infrastructure and marketing facilities. Financial support is provided by many banks, with encouragement for women entrepreneurs. State Governments also contribute by providing space to those desirous of obtaining the same. A self employment venture in food technology may be highly technology-oriented and investment–intensive, or it can be a very low key technology and low investment unit, e.g., salted peanuts, drinking water pouches, dehydrated products, pickles, among others.
The Indian food industry with a size of billion US dollars, ranks th in terms of size, contributes nearly per cent of GDP, per cent of Indian exports and involves per cent of total industrial investment in the country. Besides, it is estimated to grow at the rate of per cent of which processed food segment accounts for per cent. Key segments of this industry are milk and milk products, snack foods, bakery products, fruit and vegetable products, beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic), fish and meat processing, food processing machines and allied equipment. Exports are rising and this boosts employment avenues.