APEDA launches BHARATI initiative to boost agri-food exports

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) introduced the BHARATI program to empower agri-food startups and to improve exports. The programme was launched by union ministers Piyush Goyal and Chirag Paswan and the Minister of Foreign Trade in UAE. The goal of BHARATI is to accelerate agri-food and agri-tech innovation, technology, and incubate 100 startups. The project is consistent with the goal of the agri-food export of 50 billion Indian rupees by 2030. The initial pilot group will start in September 2025 and deal with innovation, sustainability, and global competitiveness.

What is in News

• The opening of BHARATI (Bharti Hub of Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation to enable export) by APEDA.

• There will be a solution to the agri-export challenge and will empower 100 agri-food startups to create innovations.

• In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat, Start-Up India, and the vision of the government of $50 billion agri-food exports.

Key Points

1. Objective of BHARATI

• Enhance competitiveness and agri-food exports of India.

• Strengthen youth entrepreneurs and startups in agriculture, food technology and export solutions.

• Produce Indian agri-products that are competitive at the international level.

2. Pilot Cohort (Sept 2025)

• Selects 100 startups to participate in a three months acceleration programme.

• Pay attention to product development, export preparation, compliance with the regulations, and penetration of the market.

• Will focus on high value products including GI-tagged products, organic foods and superfoods, livestock products, innovative processed foods, and AYUSH products.

3. Innovation and Technology Orientation.

• Promotes the use of AI-based quality control, blockchain traceability, cold chain IoT, and agri-fintech.

• Promotes green packaging, cold chain and logistics technology.

• Reinforces wastage reduction, perishability and quality assurance solutions.

4. Partnerships and Ecosystem

• Partners with state agriculture boards, IITs, NITs, universities, industry associations and accelerators.

• Facilitates industry-academia-government collaboration.

• Intends to create demand driven reverse integration in food technology to serve the international markets.

Conclusion

The BHARATI project is one of the steps that India is taking to become a global agri-export hub. It deals with important issues in the food export chain by targeting startups, innovation, and advanced technologies. Its model partnership will establish an agri-food system that is sustainable and competitive on a global scale. When properly implemented, BHARATI will enable India to reach its audacious 50-billion agri-food export goal by 2030.