With the dishing out of jaggery-based bakery and confectionary products by the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur’s food industry has taken a healthy turn for sweet tooth lovers. Considered a better alternative than sugar, jaggery is being used in a powdered or liquified form to prepare a range of eatables, including cakes, brownies, chocolates, jaggery and sweetened popcorns. Through this initiative, NSI attempts to deliver healthier and tastier options of our most loved munchies!
Products finalised after two years of repetitive efforts
Given its medicinal properties and traditional usage, jaggery is preferred over sugar by a number of Indians. After long-timed efforts by the sugar technology division of the institute through the past two years, the production process has been formalised. Now, it can be expected that the products would soon occupy a huge chunk of the market.
According to Prof. Narendra Mohan, director of the institute. “It was being considered as a challenge to produce such products maintaining their quality, shelf life and taste but the efforts made by the institute in developing superior quality liquid and powdered jaggery (gur), has paved way for production of such over-the-counter products.”
MSME ministry to be roped in for setting up units
The director further stated that the manufacturing of these products will be amplified depending upon demand and investment. As a part of this, necessary help shall be procured from the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). With the support of the ministries and other officials, multiple production units will be established around sugar factories and regions with significant sugarcane availability.
As of now, the MSME sector has already shown interest in instituting micro and small manufacturing centres across different areas of Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, it is expected that Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha will implement these technologies in the upcoming days. Officials from these states have contacted the institute for setting up centres previously.
– With inputs from IANS
