Deomali Millet Cluster, which is located amidst the lush green forests of Koraput district, Odisha embodies essence of a traditional manufacturing cluster. It was set up in the year 2021 under SFURTI scheme of MoMSME with the sincere effort of Koraput Farmer’s Association (Implementing Agency) covering 1113 millet farmers of the vicinity area. The cluster focuses on producing different innovative value-added products such as; millet cookies, brownie, cake, kheer mix, soup premix, millet flour, macaroni, cupcake etc. The cluster’s progress has traversed the mid stage of its implementation roadmap.
To assess the cluster progress, a team of three officials – Dr. Barada Prasanna Sahoo, Mr. Manoranjan Maharana and Ms. Subhasmita Sahoo from KIIT-TBI (Technical Agency) – visited Deomali Millet Cluster on 11 th and 12 th of September, 2024. The team was accompanied by Mr. Santosh Ku Khemundu – President of H2M Dhono Foundation (SPV) and Mr. Gagan Behera – Cluster Development Executive at the cluster site. Each component of civil work along with verification of the 2nd Civil RA bill submitted by the civil contractor were carefully scrutinized by the team. Mr. Saroj Giri (Representative of Civil Contractor) assisted by addressing the queries raised by the Technical Agency.
Also, a detailed discussion regarding the machine layout was carried out in presence of the machine supplier – Mr. Shrikrishna Bargaje (DSB Engineering) and other stakeholders. The discussion was centered on; positioning of machinery, the location of the dusting room, shutter placement, and the overall layout of the processing line. Overall, the discussions resulted in addressing most of the critical issues, providing clarity on machinery placement and foundation work. It’s envisaged that the cluster will be fully operational by end of the year.
Additionally, Mr. Khemundu was awarded with the LEAN Pledge certificate by the Technical Agency team, marking a significant achievement as the cluster became the first industry in the district to receive this certification and implement the Competitive LEAN Scheme in the cluster.
Glimpses
