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Ministry of Food Processing Industries
The Union Minister of Food Processing Industries visited PLASTINDIA 2026 exhibition to engage with global industry leaders and innovators. During the visit, the Minister released the Plastic Industry Status Report 2025, which provides comprehensive insights into the sector’s growth, export potential, and ongoing sustainability transition. Emphasizing the vision of “Viksit Bharat,” the Minister called for the adoption of advanced technologies to minimize wastage and drive sustainable manufacturing practices. Additionally, the event featured the Startup Search Initiative, where 10 startups were awarded ₹2 lakh each for developing innovation-led solutions under the theme “Bharat Next”.
Strategic Pillars of the Indian Plastic Industry Transition The PLASTINDIA 2026 exhibition and the associated status report identify several critical foundational pillars for the sector:
Sustainability and Waste Minimization: A core focus is on leveraging technology to drive circularity, ensuring that the industry contributes to national growth while reducing its environmental footprint.
Export-Led Growth and Global Value Chains: The status report highlights India’s growing role as a reliable global supplier, detailing pathways for increasing plastics exports and integrating with international value chains.
Innovation and Startup Integration: Through collaborations like the one with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, the industry is actively supporting startups to bring cutting-edge, sustainable solutions to the market.
Self-Reliance (Atmanirbharta): The collective efforts of industry stakeholders are aimed at achieving self-reliance in polymer processing and high-end manufacturing, aligning with national economic objectives.
What is the “Startup Search Initiative” in the plastics sector? The Startup Search Initiative is a platform developed by the Plastindia Foundation and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park to identify and support early-stage ventures. In 2026, the initiative focused on the theme “Bharat Next,” shortlisting 10 startups from over 150 applicants. These startups are recognized for developing innovation-led, sustainable solutions that address critical challenges in the plastics value chain, from raw material processing to waste management, and are provided with seed funding and mentorship to scale their technologies.
Policy Relevance
The release of the 2025 Status Report represents a transition from traditional volume-based growth to a value-led, technology-driven industrial model. By institutionalizing the Plastic Industry Status Report, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is ensuring that plastic packaging—a critical component of food safety and shelf-life—evolves to meet global environmental standards while supporting the domestic processing sector.
Strategic Impact:
Driving Circular Economy Goals: The emphasis on technology for wastage minimization aligns with the Ministry of Environment’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) norms, providing a roadmap for industrial compliance.
Boosting MSME Competitiveness: Insights from the status report allow MSMEs in the plastic sector to identify high-growth export markets and shift toward sustainable manufacturing to remain competitive globally.
Nurturing the Green Tech Ecosystem: Initiatives like “Bharat Next” create a pipeline of indigenous technologies, reducing dependency on imported recycling and processing hardware.
Enhancing Food Security: Sustainable and efficient plastic solutions directly support the food processing sector by reducing post-harvest losses and ensuring the safe transport of essential goods.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and the Plastindia Foundation leverage the ‘National Reference Architecture’ for Sovereign AI to track real-time resource efficiency and circularity metrics across the 150+ startups identified in the 2026 search?
Follow the full news here: PIB: Chirag Paswan Releases Plastic Industry Status Report 2025