Food Processing Subsidy in Haryana After PMFME: The Agri-Business & Food Processing Policy 2026

Haryana's Agri-Business & Food Processing Policy 2026 is now the main subsidy route for food processing units in the State. It pays 25% to 45% of eligible capital expenditure, up to ₹2 crore to ₹6 crore depending on the scheme and the area category, and it adds a 15% top-up for projects approved under the central PMFME scheme. The policy was notified on 29 May 2026, but its application procedure has not been published yet, so prepare your records now and confirm the route with the Directorate of MSME before you spend.

Sources checked: 20 October 2026

Facts checked on 20 October 2026 against the notified Haryana Govt. Gazette (Extra.) No. 82-2026/Ext of 29 May 2026 (page images read clause by clause), a PIB release of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries of 22 May 2026, the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund order of 30 September 2026, and the websites of the Directorate of MSME and the Department of Industries & Commerce, Haryana.

Key facts

Item	What the policy says
Notified	29 May 2026, Gazette (Extra.) No. 82-2026/Ext, notification No. 02/02/2026-1IB-II
Replaces	Haryana Agri-Business and Food Processing Policy 2018
Valid for	Five years from notification
Who it covers	Agri and food processing units, agricultural co-operatives, FPOs, FPCs and ancillary units such as food packaging
Main unit subsidy	25% of eligible capital expenditure, up to ₹2 crore (Core, Intermediate) or ₹4 crore (Sub-Prime, Prime/Focus)
Highest rates	45% for R&D centres, testing labs, rural packing centres, food waste and smart packaging; 35–45% for cold chain
PMFME top-up	15% on top of PMFME's 35%, total capped at 50% of project cost
Administered by	Directorate of MSME, Haryana
Application procedure	Not set out in the notified text; no guidelines published as of 20 October 2026

What subsidy can a food processing unit get?

Each scheme in the policy pays a share of eligible capital expenditure (ECE), and the cap depends on the area category of the site:

Scheme (clause)	Core	Intermediate	Sub-Prime	Prime/Focus
New, expansion or diversification of units (4.1)	25%, up to ₹2 crore	25%, up to ₹2 crore	25%, up to ₹4 crore	25%, up to ₹4 crore
Backward and forward linkages (4.2)	35%, up to ₹3 crore	35%, up to ₹3.5 crore	35%, up to ₹4.5 crore	35%, up to ₹5 crore
Integrated cold chain and value addition (4.3)	—	35%, up to ₹4 crore	40%, up to ₹5 crore	45%, up to ₹6 crore
Temperature-controlled storage (4.7)	40%, up to ₹2.5 crore	40%, up to ₹2.5 crore	40%, up to ₹4 crore	40%, up to ₹4 crore

Other schemes pay grant-in-aid of 45% of eligible capital expenditure: R&D or incubation centres (up to ₹5 crore, at most five applications), food testing and calibration labs (up to ₹2.5 crore), primary processing and packing centres in rural areas (up to ₹2 crore), food waste processing (up to ₹2 crore) and smart food packaging (up to ₹1 crore in Core and Intermediate Areas, ₹2 crore in Sub-Prime and Prime/Focus Areas). Reefer vehicles get 35% of cost, up to ₹30 lakh a vehicle and at most two vehicles; in Core Areas only electric reefer vehicles qualify.

Women, SC, Divyang, transgender and ex-servicemen-led enterprises (at least 51% stake in a firm or company), 100% Export Oriented Units and joint ventures with a foreign investor get 5% extra under these schemes. Use our Know Your Zone tool to see which area category your site may fall in; the food policy uses the same four categories as Haryana's other 2026 policies.

Is PMFME still available, and how does the State top-up work?

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries said on 22 May 2026 that PMFME, approved for 2020-21 to 2024-25, "has been extended till September 2026". We found no announcement of a further extension up to 20 October 2026, so treat new PMFME applications as closed until one is notified. Our PMFME scheme page and PMFME guide track its status.

Clause 4.10 of the Haryana policy gives a 15% top-up on PMFME's 35% subsidy for individual and group projects, new or expansion, that are approved under PMFME after the Haryana policy was notified, with the total capped at 50% of project cost. The top-up therefore depends on PMFME approvals resuming.

For post-harvest infrastructure (warehouses, cold stores, pack houses, primary processing), the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is running on a temporary extension: an order of 30 September 2026 continues it to 31 March 2027 or until its approval for the next Finance Commission period, whichever is earlier, and says no fresh sanction is permitted from the earlier period's outlay. Confirm with your bank that it is sanctioning new AIF loans.

Who qualifies?

• New units that start commercial production during the policy period.
• Existing units expanding, diversifying or modernising at the same location, if the additional Fixed Capital Investment is at least 50% of the current FCI and the expansion is completed within 18 months of its start. An expansion at a different location counts as a new unit.
• Enterprises in all agriculture and allied sectors, including horticulture, dairy, poultry, fisheries, livestock and millets.

What is not eligible?

The negative list in Annexure I excludes:

• Packaged drinking water (other than drinks containing more than 5% lime or lemon juice, or more than 10% of other fruit juice or pulp)
• Farming itself, such as dairy, poultry or mushroom farming and hatcheries (processing of dairy, meat and mushroom stays eligible)
• Plain shelling, grading or polishing of rice, wheat and pulses
• Plain manufacture of flour, suji and maida (value-added products from them stay eligible)

The negative list does not apply to the testing lab, temperature-controlled storage, mini food park, food waste, PMFME top-up and smart packaging schemes.

Eligible capital expenditure excludes land, captive renewable energy plants, effluent treatment, waste management, air pollution control and zero liquid discharge equipment (these can be claimed under other State or Central schemes), working capital, goodwill, preliminary and pre-operative expenses, capitalised interest, and technology or know-how costs.

How do I apply, step by step?

1. Check the activity against the negative list and pick the scheme that fits (unit, linkage, cold chain, storage).
2. Confirm the area category of the site and keep the land documents that prove it.
3. Prepare a Detailed Project Report with the capital cost split by item. Our DPR Builder gives you a bank-format first draft.
4. Contact the Directorate of MSME, Haryana (Panchkula) for the application procedure. The notified policy names no portal or form, and no operational guidelines had been published when we checked on 20 October 2026.
5. Record every item of expenditure. Capital expenditure counts during the policy period, before production starts and up to one year after; ECE made in the year before 29 May 2026 also counts if production starts within the policy period.
6. Keep the first sale invoice: the policy dates commercial production from it.

Which documents should I keep?

• Udyam Registration (for MSMEs), GST registration and FSSAI licence
• Detailed Project Report
• Chartered-accountant certified statement of eligible capital expenditure
• Land or lease documents showing the area category
• Machinery quotations, invoices and payment proofs
• First sale invoice (date of commencement of commercial production)

What are the common mistakes?

• Applying for plain milling or grading, which is on the negative list.
• Counting land, ETP or captive solar in eligible capital expenditure.
• Planning on the PMFME top-up before PMFME approvals resume.
• Expanding by less than 50% of current FCI, or taking longer than 18 months.
• Using the Progressive MSME policy for a food unit. That policy treats agri and food processing as a thrust sector covered by this separate policy; compare both on the Progressive MSME scheme page before you choose.

What should I do now?

Fix the scheme and area category, prepare the project report and keep clean expenditure records from the first invoice. Read the policy's scheme page, run the eligibility checker, see our subsidy and DPR service, or ask our expert team to plan your food processing project.