Initiative to empower 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) launched its new initiative BHARATI to empower 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups, accelerate their journey, promote innovation and create new export opportunities for young entrepreneurs, and achieve US$50 billion exports by 2030.
It was launched on the sidelines of the “Food & Beverages Sector Stakeholders Meeting” chaired by Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, alongside Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, and Minister of Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan http://commerce.gov.in.
The initiative marks a significant step to strengthen India’s agricultural and processed food exports with a target of generating US$50 billion earnings from global markets by 2030 https://fieo.org/.
BHARATI, which stands for Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for export enablement, has been designed to empower 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups, accelerate their journey, promote innovation and create new export opportunities for young entrepreneurs https://www.mofpi.gov.in/.
Starting in September 2025, the inaugural pilot cohort will empower 100 startups, including high-value agri-food producers, technology-driven service providers and innovators http://startupindia.gov.in.
The BHARATI initiative is structured to complement and enhance industry and government-led incubation programmes in the agriculture, food and food processing sectors. It seeks to drive innovation in high-value categories such as GI-tagged agri-products, organic foods, superfoods, novel processed Indian agri-foods, livestock products and AYUSH products.
The initiative also aims to attract startups working on advanced technologies such as AI-based quality control, blockchain-enabled traceability, IoT-enabled cold chains and agri-fintech, while addressing critical areas like innovative packaging, sustainability and sea protocols https://sbi.com.in/.
BHARATI seeks to resolve export challenges related to product development, value addition, quality assurance, perishability, wastage and logistics. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem, the programme will connect agri-food innovators, tech-driven solution providers and SPS-TBT-focused startups to deliver scalable, cost-effective solutions that enhance India’s global competitiveness https://www.bseindia.com/.
APEDA reiterated its commitment to developing and promoting the export of agricultural and processed food products from India to global markets. With the launch of the BHARATI initiative, APEDA aims to accelerate export growth of its Scheduled Products, foster innovation and forge meaningful collaborations by harnessing the power of youth and entrepreneurship to strengthen India’s position in global agri-food trade, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on 2 Sept . fiinews.com https://www.nseindia.com/
