New Delhi, India — March 25, 2026
India’s Minister for Food Processing Industries, Chirag Paswan, has called for greater adoption of advanced technologies to modernise the country’s food processing sector, highlighting the role of innovation and startups in driving industry transformation.
Speaking at the 33rd Convergence India & 11th Smart Future Cities India Expo 2026 in New Delhi, the minister emphasised the need to shift focus from volume-based agricultural output to value and quality-driven production. He also stressed the importance of continued engagement between policymakers and industry stakeholders to identify operational challenges and shape responsive policy frameworks.
Reaffirming the government’s long-term vision, Paswan stated: “We are working towards creating an ecosystem where global markets become accessible for our goods. We’ll achieve this ambition by integrating technology, innovation, and the dynamism of our startups. As we harness advancements in food processing and agriculture, we can accelerate our journey towards building a globally competitive sector and realising the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
He added: “Platforms such as Convergence India open the doors for those involved in the agritech and food processing segments to explore the potential of technology to enhance their capabilities. The expo provides opportunity for exchange of ideas and best practices from India and across the world, and guides how to implement these ideas in localised ecosystems.”
During the event, Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT and CEO of the India AI Mission, highlighted India’s potential to emerge as a global hub for AI inferencing. He noted the country’s strong talent base, startup ecosystem, and growing industry participation as key drivers.
Emphasising real-world applications, Singh said: “With our young, skilled talent pool and a vibrant startup and innovation ecosystem, India is well-positioned to drive significant impact in AI. The technologies showcased at the 33rd Convergence Expo highlight that AI’s potential extends far beyond models, with transformative applications across sectors such as power, mobility, IT, urban planning, and healthcare.”
The event also featured discussions among government representatives and industry participants on scaling AI adoption, strengthening digital public infrastructure, and building capabilities to support India’s digital economy. Additional sessions explored global collaboration, smart mobility, connected systems, and interoperable transport ecosystems.
The expo brought together technology companies including Qualcomm, Tesla, Omnicomm, Philips, Realtek, Escort Sensors, Zoon, and Redington, along with ecosystem partners such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft.
Chandrika Behl, Managing Director of Exhibitions India Group, said: “Convergence India has always been a key platform for enabling dialogue, partnerships and innovation across India’s technology landscape. Through this platform, we initiate conversations around AI, digital infrastructure and sectoral transformation, reflecting how quickly technology is moving from promise to practical impact. From food processing to healthcare to mobility to enterprise systems, the focus is on building scalable, responsible and future-ready solutions that can deliver real outcomes for businesses, communities and the wider economy.”
Market Research Outlook Analysis:
The focus on technology integration in food processing reflects a broader shift toward value-added production and supply chain modernisation. It also aligns with evolving consumer demand for higher-quality and processed food products, while highlighting the growing role of AI and digital infrastructure in improving efficiency across the food value chain.
Explore related insights:
Market Research Outlook tracks developments across the food processing and agritech ecosystem, including market size, growth trends, competitive benchmarking, and investment activity.
