World Food India: ₹1 lakh crore MoUs signed, agri-food sector gets big boost

New Delhi: World Food India 2025, hosted at the Bharat Mandapam here, witnessed major milestones in India’s mission to become the global food basket of the future. Day 2 of the event saw a strong convergence of global regulators, industry leaders, startups and policymakers engaging in high-level dialogues on sustainability, technology, investment and international collaboration in the food processing sector.
The event was inaugurated n Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who underscored India’s pivotal role in ensuring global food and nutrition security. In his address, he said, “India is not just ensuring food security for its 1.4 billion citizens, but is also ready to serve the world with sustainable, value-added, and safe food products. We invite global investors to become partners in this transformative journey of India’s food economy.” He emphasized the importance of innovation, sustainability and digital transformation in modernizing the food processing sector.
Building on the momentum from Day 1 — which saw a flurry of MoUs and ground-breaking announcements — the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) confirmed that a total of ₹1 lakh crore in investment proposals had been signed across the first two days. On Day 2 alone, 21 companies signed MoUs worth over ₹25,000 crore, reinforcing India’s image as a receptive and investment-ready destination for food and agri-business.
Dedicated sessions were hosted by focus and partner states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jharkhand and Bihar, along with key participating countries such as Japan, Russia, Vietnam and New Zealand. Central ministries like the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of AYUSH, APEDA, and the World Bank led impactful discussions on India’s agricultural and nutritional future.
The MoFPI conducted 13 sessions, spotlighting five key focus pillars of the summit, in addition to trending sectors such as pet food, nutraceuticals, alcoholic beverages, plant-based foods, and specialty foods.
Parallel global events like the 3rd Global Food Regulators Summit by FSSAI and the 24th India International Seafood Show (IISS) by SEAI further enriched the global outlook, promoting harmonization of food safety standards and boosting India’s seafood export potential.
The summit emphasized the critical role of technology transfer, innovation and knowledge sharing in transforming India from a food-secure nation to one that ensures nutrition security. Government-to-government meetings with Russia and Portugal added to the international depth of the event, highlighting avenues for agricultural cooperation and food processing partnerships.