In News:

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has launched the BHARATI initiative (Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Enablement) to accelerate India’s agricultural and processed food exports.

Objectives and Vision

• Empowering Startups: BHARATI will support 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups in its first pilot cohort beginning September 2025.
• Export Growth: It is aligned with APEDA’s vision of achieving $50 billion in agri-food exports by 2030.
• Innovation & Competitiveness: The initiative seeks to promote cutting-edge solutions in GI-tagged products, organic foods, superfoods, processed agri-foods, livestock, and AYUSH-based products.

Key Features

• Technology Integration: Focus on AI-based quality control, blockchain-enabled traceability, IoT-enabled cold chains, agri-fintech, sustainable packaging, and sea protocols.
• Export Challenges Addressed: Product development, value addition, perishability, wastage reduction, quality assurance, and logistics efficiency.
• Collaborative Ecosystem: Startups will be connected with agri-innovators, tech providers, and SPS-TBT focused ventures to deliver scalable, cost-effective export solutions.
• Capacity Building: Selected startups will undergo a three-month acceleration programme covering product development, export readiness, regulatory compliance, and market access.

Institutional Support

To build a strong support ecosystem, APEDA will partner with:

• State agricultural boardsand agricultural universities
• IITs, NITs, and premier research institutions
• Industry bodies and accelerators

Significance

• Strengthens India’s global competitiveness in agri-food exports.
• Promotes Atmanirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local, Digital India, and Start-Up India missions.
• Encourages demand-driven backward integration, innovation, and sustainable food value chains.
• Creates a scalable annual incubation model, ensuring long-term growth in agricultural and processed food exports.