Karnataka allows Ruchi Soya to set up multiple facilities.

Ruchi Soya Industries said it has received approval from the Karnataka government to set up multiple new facilities in the food and agri-business sector in Dakshina Kannada district.

The company received the clearance from the State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) recently, Ruchi Soya said in a statement here.

“The proposed new integrated platform is expected to have significant value for both the Indian farmer, in terms of efficient handling of produce and sales realisation, as well as for the Indian consumer, who will stand to gain from an increased range of high quality finished products,” Ruchi Soya Founder and Managing Director Dinesh Shahra said.

Ruchi Soya had entered into an agreement with the Karnataka Government in November 2015, for setting up these facilities.

The company will establish a complete and integrated value chain.

Ruchi Soya will set up multi-location palm fruit and kernel processing units producing edible oil, palm kernel cake, palm kernel oil and solar power in Dakshina Kannada district.

The company will also set up a nursery to produce high-yielding varieties of plant species and creating awareness about oil palm cultivation.

The new facilities will offer employment to over 17,000 people including farmers, contract farming and agricultural workers.

Earlier, in 1998, one of Ruchi Soya’s group companies started business in Karnataka with an investment of Rs. 8 crore in Mangalore (Dakshina Kannada) to install a liquid handling and storage terminal with a capacity of 17,500 tonne.

The company further invested Rs. 200 crore from 2001-2011 and set up a edible oil refinery plant in Mangalore with a capacity of 1,400 tonne per day.

Currently, Ruchi Soya has procurement rights in palm planted area of over 2,00,000 hectares, including 4,000 hectares in Karnataka.

HBL