National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T), formerly Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), is an academic institution with

Institute of National Importance In India, an Institution of National Importance (INI) refers to a premier public higher education institution granted special status by an act of the Parliament of India. Such institutions are recognized for their pivotal role in developing high ...

(INI) status, functioning under the

Ministry of Food Processing Industries The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) is a federal ministry of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of the rules, regulations, and laws related to food processing in India. The ministry was est ...

(MoFPI),

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

located at

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. The institute offers academic and research programmes in the field of food processing technology. The institute has

National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) provides accreditation services to Conformity Assessment Bodies (Laboratories) in India. NABL Schemes include Accreditation (Recognition) of Technical competence of tes ...

(NABL) accredited food quality testing laboratory which is also notified

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body under the administration of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of f ...

(FSSAI) Referral Food Laboratory. Food product development laboratory, food microbiology laboratory, post harvest pest management laboratory, food processing incubation center, Central Instrumentation Laboratory and food engineering laboratories are in its main campus at

. NIFTEM-T is operating liaison offices at Guwahati, Assam and

Bathinda, Punjab Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

. These liaison offices have facilities to give skill development trainings, incubation and consultancy services to the farmers, entrepreneurs and students in the field of value addition of agricultural produce and food processing technologies.

History

Dr. V. Subrahmanyan an eminent scientist and former director of CSIR -

Central Food Technological Research Institute The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is an Indian food research institute and laboratory headquartered in Mysore, India. It is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. India is the wor ...

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

, started Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC) in 1967 with the aim of providing solutions to farmers in the preservation of high moisture paddy. Considering the need of R & D efforts in the post-harvest processing, preservation and value addition of raw agricultural produce, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) upgraded the PPRC and renamed it as Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) in February 2008. Apart from R&D activities, IICPT started offering academic and research programmes in the field of food processing technology from the year 2009. Since the scope of the institute widened from post-harvest processing to value addition of agricultural produce, it was renamed as Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology in March 2017. The institute is located at

, the ancient capital of

Chola Dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

. IIFPT has well equipped laboratories and engaged in the R&D of post- harvest technologies, food processing, value addition, by-product utilization, processes and products development. Paddy Processing Research Center

In February 2019, the ''National Institutes of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019'' was introduced in the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

. The bill aimed at granting

(INI) status to IIFPT, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and

National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM or National Institute of Food Technology or NIFTEM-K) is a higher education institute operating under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI). It is loc ...

(NIFTEM), Sonipat, Haryana, thus granting them more financial and academic autonomy. The bill was passed by the

on 15 March 2021 and by the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

on 26 July 2021, The ''National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Act, 2021'' was published in the Gazette of India on 30 July 2021 and the name of IIFPT has been changed to National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management-Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T).

Academics

NIFTEM-T offers

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degrees in

food technology Food technology is a branch of food science that addresses the production, preservation, quality control and research and development of food products. It may also be understood as the science of ensuring that a society is food secure and ha ...

and allied fields.

Admissions

Admission to the undergraduate

B.Tech A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Unive ...

programme is done through

Joint Seat Allocation Authority The Joint Seat Allocation Authority, also known as JoSAA, is an agency established by the Ministry of Education formerly known as HRD Ministry to manage and regulate the admission to 110 tertiary institutes administered by the Government of In ...

using the rank secured in JEE-Main examination. Admission to postgraduate and doctoral programme is done based on the performance of the candidates in their undergraduate studies and the entrance examination conducted by the institute.

Departments

NIFTEM-T has following departments for academic and research activities * Centre of Excellence in Grain Sciences * Centre of Excellence in Nonthermal Processing * Food Engineering * Food Product Development * Food packaging and system development *

Food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

and Quality Testing *

Food Biotechnology Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using various methods of genetic engineering. G ...

* Central Instrumentation Laboratory * Primary Processing, storage and handling * Computational Modeling and Nano scale processing Unit

Research and Industrial Consultancy

Research

NIFTEM-T is engaged in R&D activities in food processing and its allied sectors. Faculty members with their team of students, scholars, Research Associates, Senior/Junior Research Fellows and Project Assistants undertake research and industrial consultancy assignments. Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Coconut Development Board, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises are the major agencies provide funding for the research activities undertaken by IIFPT. 3D Food printing technology, Sensor development for quality testing of foods, post-harvest processing of small onions, food industry waste and by product utilization, Shelf life enhancements of different food products,

functional food A functional food is a food claimed to have an additional benefit beyond just nutrition (often one related to health promotion or disease prevention) by modifying the horticulture, cultivation of the native food or by food additive, adding ingr ...

s, non-thermal processing of foods, food engineering, food processing equipment design, development of packaging materials and systems, sensory evaluation of foods are some of the niche areas of its research activities. Non-dairy millet ice cream, Mobile Food processing unit, integrated onion processing unit, glycemic index and food degradation kinetics studies of foods, are the major technologies developed and commercialized by IIFPT.

Industrial Consultancy

NIFTEM-T is also providing consultancy and R&D services to various food processing industries for new product development, refinement of existing processes & products and food quality testing services.

Collaborations

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with International and National academic institutions, research organizations and industries to carry out R&D activities. This platform creates avenues for joint research activities, capacity building programs, student and faculty exchange programs.

Students activities

NIFTEM-T students organizes inter collegiate cultural fest named "iFESTY". Students from all over the country participate in this event to exhibit their talents. Demonstrations on Yoga and lectures on yogic practices are conducted during

International Yoga Day The International Day of Yoga is a day in recognition of Yoga that is List of International Days of Yoga, celebrated around the world annually on 21 June following its adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations in 2014. ...

. Annual sports events are organized by the students to exhibit their talents in sports and games. The institute has indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Incubation Center

A well established

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

business incubation center is functioning in its main campus at Thanjavur and also in its liaison offices at Guwahati and Bathinda. It provides incubation services to

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, who are interested in setting up their businesses in the area of

. It also conducts short and long term training programs on various food processing technologies. The facilities including the equipment and machinery are given on rental basis to stake holders who wish to produce and market test their products before venturing in the food processing businesses. For its entrepreneurship and employment initiatives, NIFTEM-T received

AICTE The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education (India), Department of Higher Education. Established in November 1945 firs ...

- Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) awards 2018 on the theme "Developed Village - Developed Nation' NIFTEM-T is a nodal agency for the Prime Minister - Formalization of Micro Enterprises (PM FME) Scheme, a major initiative of

(MoFPI),

under

Atmanirbhar Bharat Atmanirbhar Bharat () is a phrase popularized by Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, for economic self-sufficiency and national development during a pandemic. The term ...

to provide technical, financial and business support to the existing and new micro level food processing industries. The scheme aims to enhance competitiveness of existing micro enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and support Farmer Producer organizations, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and other Cooperatives. For this scheme, IIFPT is serving in

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often ...

to support micro enterprises,

branding Branding may refer to: Physical markings * Making a mark, typically by charring: ** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.) ** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...

and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

, strengthening of institutions and

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

framework. NIFTEM-T has coordinated with various national level technical institutes and compiled indicative cost norms guidelines hand book for establishment of common incubation facility under PM FME scheme. IIFPT has prepared the training syllabus for the different levels of PM FME training programs as Training of Master Trainers (ToMT), Training of Trainers (ToT) at District level and Training of Beneficiaries (ToB) to impart skills on various aspects of food processing.

Rankings

NIFTEM-T ranked 86th among engineering institutions by the

National Institutional Ranking Framework National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministr ...

(NIRF) in 2022. Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 ranked NIFTEM-T as Excellent Band in the Institute of National Importance & Central Universities/CFTIs (Technical) Category, a major initiative by MoE, Innovation cell (MIC),

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. NIFTEM-T was one among the six institutes honored with Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Awards 2019 by AICTE southern region for its best practices and contribution to enhance the income of villages through food processing.

References

{{authority control Agricultural research institutes in India Research institutes in Tamil Nadu Multidisciplinary research institutes Agriculture in Tamil Nadu Ministry of Food Processing Industries Food processing industry in India 1967 establishments in Madras State Research institutes established in 1967