BHARATI Initiative: Objective, Focus Areas and Structure

The BHARATI Initiative focuses on advancing India’s polar research, sustainable development, and climate studies through scientific collaboration and innovation in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Table of Contents

Context: The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has launched a new initiative called BHARATI during the “Food & Beverages Sector Stakeholders Meeting”.

What is the BHARATI Initiative?

Full Form: Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Enablement.
Objective:
- Incubate 100 agri-food and agri-tech startups annually.
- Drive innovation, export readiness, and sustainability in agriculture and food processing.
Focus Areas: GI products, organic foods, superfoods, AYUSH products, blockchain traceability, AI-based quality checks, IoT cold chains, and sustainable packaging.
Vision: Achieve $50 billion agri-food exports by 2030, strengthen India’s global agri-trade.

Structure

A 3-month acceleration programme for selected startups on product development, export readiness, compliance, and market access.
Collaborative support with state boards, agri-universities, IITs/NITs, and industry bodies.

About APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority)

Established: 1986, under the APEDA Act, 1985
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India

Mandate & Functions

Promotion & Development of export of scheduled agricultural and processed food products.
Scheduled Products include: fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy products, honey, jaggery, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cereals, groundnuts, floriculture products, etc.
Export Facilitation:
- Financial assistance, market development, and quality improvement measures.
- Infrastructure development (like pack houses, cold storage, and integrated packhouses).
Certification & Quality Assurance:
- Organic certification under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).
- GI tagging, traceability, and food safety protocols.
Capacity Building: Training exporters, farmers, and entrepreneurs.
Global Market Access: Organises buyer-seller meets, international fairs, and promotional campaigns.