News: The APEDA launched its new initiative BHARATI on the sidelines of the “Food & Beverages Sector Stakeholders Meeting” chaired by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.
About BHARATI Initiative
- BHARATI stands for – Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Enablement.
- Launched by: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
- Aim: This initiative aims to empower 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups, accelerate innovation, and create export opportunities, aligned to APEDA’s vision of $50 billion agri-food exports by 2030.
- It also aims to build globally competitive agri-products, deepen demand-led backward integration.
- Launch and scale: Its pilot cohort begins from September 2025 with 100 startups (high-value agri-food producers, technology-driven service providers, innovators).
- It is aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local, Digital India, and Start-Up India initiatives.
- Features
- Programme design: It complements government- and industry-led incubators and runs a three-month acceleration on product development, export readiness, regulatory compliance, and market access.
- Focus categories: Focus areas include GI-tagged products, organic foods, superfoods, novel processed Indian agri-foods, livestock, and AYUSH
- Tech focus: It invites advanced technologies such as AI-based quality control, blockchain-enabled traceability, IoT-enabled cold chains, and agri-fintech, while addressing packaging, sustainability, and sea protocols.
- Challenges targeted: It tackles export bottlenecks of quality assurance, perishability, wastage, and logistics.
- Ecosystem building: It connects agri-food innovators, tech-driven solution providers, and SPS-TBT-focused startups to deliver scalable, cost-effective solutions.
