Need to grow with sustainability for nation to become self-reliant: Union Minister Chirag Paswan

Speaking at Storyboard18's Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition on October 18 in New Delhi, Chirag Paswan, Minister of Food Processing Industries, shed light on the importance of minimising wastage and use of technology to work towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047

By Storyboard18

Published: Oct 24, 2024 10:53:46 AM IST

Updated: Oct 24, 2024 11:20:23 AM IST

As a Food Processing Minister, Chirag Paswan (left) shared that his dream is to have more and more Indian homegrown brands in global supermarkets, at Storyboard18 and Network18’s Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition.

From pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2070 to achieving 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reiterated India's commitment to environmental protection and the path towards sustainability, on various occasions.

Building further on his ambitious goals, Minister of Food Processing Industries, Chirag Paswan shared his of how India can lead sustainable growth in the food processing sector, at Storyboard18's Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition on October 18.

Thanking Storyboard18 for the great initiative, in his opening remarks the Minister shared his dream of having more Indian and homegrown brands in the supermarkets, globally.

Storyboard18 and Network18 Group together have launched the marquee platform designed to spotlight critical conversations on sustainability and purpose-driven leadership.

Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition is a pivotal platform to foster dialogue on sustainability and highlight how today’s leaders are embedding purpose and environmental stewardship into their companies.

“I thank Storyboard18 and Network18’s Power of Purpose: Sustainability Edition for giving me this opportunity— I aim to be the medium between the industry stakeholders and the government (via a platform like this)—the idea is to grow together. Today, we are the fifth largest economy in the world and aim to become the third largest in the next five years; we need government handholding all kinds of stakeholders. Instead of working in silos, all sectors need to work collectively and for the nation to grow and become self-reliant, we need to grow with sustainability,” the Minister said in New Delhi.

Also read: India at Crossroads: Embracing ESG for a sustainable future

Paswan shared that the country will grow and develop further with positive competition, collective responsibility, and government efforts.

“Everyone counts. Every individual counts,” he said.

The Union Minister started off his speech with PM Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat— to be a developed nation by 2047. “As a youngster and looking at other developed countries, I used to wonder why my country is not a developed nation...with PM’s vision now, during this Amritkal we need to work towards making our country a developed nation- a self-dependent nation,” he said.

He also emphasised PM’s vision to manufacture most products within the country (that we import today) which further has helped open up so many new avenues. “Until five to ten years ago, the food processing department wasn't taken that seriously. However, today India has the potential to become a global food basket in the coming years.”

“We have enough in abundance to fulfil global food demand— we are now working towards converting this abundance into opportunity,” he said.

As a Food Processing Minister, Paswan shared that his dream is to have more and more Indian homegrown brands in global supermarkets.

“We are an agri-based nation, so we have the potential to achieve this, while also ensuring our farmers are being fairly compensated. We haven't yet explored all the opportunities in the food processing sector—there is an endless scope in the processing sector given the diversity of the country which gives us the opportunities to have varieties of delicacies and innovations.”

However, Paswan added “As we aim to grow this sector, we need to ensure that it doesn't negatively impact the environment. Hence, we are ensuring not only to minimse the wastage but also add value to the sector.”

To add value and minimise wastage, the government is actively exploring technologies. For instance, announcing the FY25 budget in July, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced financial support for 50 multi-product food irradiation units in the MSME sector— which helps perishable items whether they are vegetables, with longevity.

“The more we try to grow in an organised manner, the more this sector will grow,” Paswan concluded.

A gathering of purpose-driven minds, the event witnessed impactful stories and pivotal conversations to set the agenda for a sustainable future.

Minister Paswan was joined by industry leaders such as Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, InfoEdge; Rohit Kapoor, CEO - Food Marketplace, Swiggy; Saurabh Kumar, VP- India, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet; Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI; Hisham Mundol, Chief Advisor, Environmental Defense Fund India; Chandra Bhushan, CEO, iFOREST; Ramnath Vaidyanthan, AVP & Head Of Sustainability, Godrej Industries; Alok Lall, COO, Microsoft India and South Asia; Ruchira Jaitly, CMO, Diageo India; Angelo George, CEO, Bisleri International; Ridhima Pandey, 16-year-old climate activist; Prof Chetan Solanki, Professor, IIT Bombay and 'Solar Man of India'; and Sashidhar Vempala, Chief Sustainability Officer, HUL.

By Akanksha Nagar