BHARATI Programme – APEDA’s Export Acceleration Initiative
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Context: The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority has successfully completed the first cohort of BHARATI (Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Innovation), a flagship programme aimed at promoting innovation-driven growth in India’s agri-food export sector.
About BHARATI
- Launched by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- Designed to identify, mentor, and support startups developing innovative products, technologies, and solutions for agricultural and processed food exports.
- Supports India’s goal of achieving USD 50 billion in APEDA-scheduled product exports by 2030.
- Focuses on entrepreneurship, technology adoption, value addition, export readiness, and global market access.
Key Features of BHARATI
- The programme focuses on promoting the export of high-value agricultural and food products, including GI-tagged products, organic produce, superfoods, processed foods, livestock products, and AYUSH-based products.
- It encourages the adoption of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and Agri-FinTech to address challenges related to packaging, shelf life, sustainability, traceability, and supply chain management.
- BHARATI supports startups and innovators in developing export-oriented solutions by helping them comply with global food safety, quality, and regulatory standards through a structured three-month acceleration programme.
- The initiative complements national programmes such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Vocal for Local, Digital India, and Start-up India.
- APEDA collaborates with state agencies, universities, IITs, NITs, industry associations, and startup accelerators to build a robust innovation ecosystem and ensure the programme’s expansion on a larger scale every year.
About APEDA
- The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is a statutory organization established under the APEDA Act, 1985.
- It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- APEDA is responsible for promoting and facilitating the export of agricultural and processed food products from India.
- It provides assistance in areas such as export marketing, quality improvement, infrastructure development, transportation, packaging, and value addition to enhance the competitiveness of Indian products in international markets.
