NewzVille Desk
Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Chirag Paswan today emphasized the need for a roadmap in the food processing and nutraceutical sector in the country, saying that the sector must align itself with the vision of becoming a developed nation by 2047. He said this while addressing ASSOCHAM’s “NutriBharat 2026: National Conference on the Role of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods in Strengthening Nutrition Security,” in New Delhi, the minister said the sector must set clear milestones for the next year, five years, and ten years while working collaboratively with policymakers and regulators to unlock its full potential.
“India has successfully moved from food scarcity to food security. The next frontier is nutrition security, ensuring that our future generations are healthy and free from malnutrition_ ,” Paswan said.
He emphasized that the food processing industry has a crucial role to play in delivering safe, nutritious, and high-quality food products to consumers.
Highlighting the importance of maintaining global standards, the minister urged industry players to ensure that quality is never compromised, noting that even a single rejected consignment at an international port can damage India’s reputation built over decades. He also stressed the need for innovation, responsible manufacturing practices, and stronger collaboration between industry, regulators, and research institutions.
Paswan further noted that India has the potential to emerge as a “global food basket,” supported by its strong agricultural base, growing food processing capacity, and expanding global trade partnerships. However, he said this vision can only be realised through collective responsibility and a strong commitment to quality and consumer trust.
Nirmal K Minda, President ASSOCHAM also emphasized on the need to move from food security to nutrition security, highlighting the growing challenge of micronutrient deficiencies alongside rising lifestyle-related health concerns. He underscored that platforms such as NutriBharat must go beyond dialogue to drive actionable outcomes, with a clear focus on strengthening industry collaboration, policy alignment, and implementation. He also outlined ASSOCHAM’s broader vision through key focus areas including manufacturing, ease of doing business, MSME participation, digital enablement, and sanitation as critical enablers of India’s growth journey.
Providing a global perspective, Takayuki Hagiwara, FAO Representative in India, observed that the global conversation has shifted from food security to nutrition security, and nutraceuticals are becoming an important tool to bridge nutritional gaps in modern diets.
He also highlighted the need to build reliable, innovative, consumer-oriented, and hygienic agri-food systems to support healthier populations.
Vivek Chandra, Chairman, Food Processing & Value Addition Council, ASSOCHAM and CEO – Global Branded Business, LT Foods, in his opening remarks said, “India’s growing potential as a globally competitive hub for processed food, he highlighted the importance of aligning industry efforts with national priorities on nutrition security. He underscored a strong call for moving beyond dialogue to measurable outcomes, reinforcing the need for sustained action, industry collaboration, and policy alignment to drive impact.
Speaking on regulatory developments, Dr Alka Rao, Advisor (Science & Standards & Regulations), FSSAI, emphasized the role of science-based regulations and stakeholder engagement in strengthening India’s food ecosystem. She noted that the regulator has undertaken extensive consultations with industry and is actively working to develop frameworks for emerging areas such as nutraceuticals, probiotics, and functional foods while also aligning with global standards through platforms such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Vikram Kelkar, Co-Chairman, Food Processing & Value Addition Council, ASSOCHAM and Managing Director, Hexagon Nutrition highlighted India’s strong potential to emerge as a global leader in the nutraceuticals and functional foods space, he noted, “India stands at a pivotal moment in its journey from food security to true nutrition security. While significant progress has been made in improving food availability and agricultural productivity, challenges such as micronutrient deficiencies, malnutrition, and the rising burden of lifestyle diseases continue to persist. Nutraceuticals and functional foods are emerging as powerful tools that bridge the gap between nutrition and preventive healthcare, supporting immunity, metabolic health, and overall well-being. With its strong food processing ecosystem, rich heritage of traditional systems like Ayurveda, and growing scientific and research capabilities, India has the potential to become a global leader in this sector. However, realizing this potential will require strong science-backed innovation, balanced regulatory frameworks, industry–academia collaboration, and greater consumer awareness to build a credible and sustainable nutraceutical ecosystem.”
A knowledge paper in collaboration with EY, on the evolving role of nutraceuticals and functional foods in strengthening India’s nutrition security was also released during the conference. Based on the paper, Amit Vatsyayan, Partner and Social Sector Leader, EY India, said, “An industry led, agriculture powered nutrition ecosystem can deliver measurable public health outcomes at scale. By integrating India’s AYUSH heritage with clinical evidence and standards driven manufacturing, the sector can build a verifiable farm to formulation value chain linking GAP aligned FPOs, biofortified millets and pulses, botanicals and plant proteins through digital traceability and transparent testing. With strong claims governance and export certification, this approach can convert India’s biodiversity into globally trusted nutrition products. Sustained industry investment in science, farmer partnerships and consumer awareness would be critical to expanding access, enhancing rural incomes and advancing preventive, outcomes oriented nutrition, positioning India as a leading global market player.”
A joint knowledge paper titled ‘NutriBharat@2047 – India’s Nutritional Transition through Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods’, released by EY and ASSOCHAM, underscores the urgent need for India to transition from a food security framework to a “nutrition for all” approach.
The conference brought together policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, researchers and global organisations to discuss innovation, regulatory frameworks, research collaboration and global opportunities for India’s nutraceutical and functional food sector.
