India has proven it can grow rice in abundance. Now it must learn to make that rice count for more, Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan said.
Speaking at the second Bharat International Rice Conference 2026, organised by the Indian Rice Exporters Federation and APEDA, Paswan said the country’s challenge has changed from volume to value. There is real room, he said, to strengthen the rice value chain all the way from the paddy field to the dining table. Traceability, sustainability, quality certification, research, innovation and processed rice products, he added, all need far greater attention.
He took the audience back to the years after independence, when the national priority was simple: feed the people and produce more. “The Green Revolution helped India overcome food deficits,” he said. “Today, with strong production capacity, we must focus on processing, quality, branding, traceability, sustainability and value addition.”
Paswan tied this shift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of a developed India by 2047. While some sectors may be nearing saturation, he said, food processing and allied industries still hold enormous untapped potential. The Prime Minister’s vision is for India to become a global food basket, meeting its own needs while helping feed the world. “Rice will be central to this ambition,” Paswan said. His ministry, he added, is using its schemes to build processing infrastructure, encourage innovation and expand exports of value-added products.
The stakes are high. India accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global rice trade, a position Paswan described as both a major responsibility and a major opportunity. He asked how exports could be strengthened, quality improved and global best practices adopted, while India shares its own strengths with partner countries.
Drawing on the “Saptadhara”, or seven streams of strength for national development, that Modi outlined in his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, Paswan said manufacturing and agriculture are especially relevant to rice. In manufacturing, he said, India should reduce its dependence on imports and build more of its own machinery, equipment and technology for the rice value chain, from cultivation tools to processing systems.
In agriculture, he said, India’s greatest strength is its farmers and its production base. Food processing connects that strength to industry, jobs, exports and better incomes for farmers, and strengthening this link is essential for rural prosperity and industrial growth.
Paswan also pointed to the government’s push to improve global connectivity and make doing business easier. India is expanding trade agreements, including free trade agreements, to encourage the exchange of goods, services, technology and best practices, he said. Such pacts can lift exports, open doors to advanced technologies and global markets, and let India share its expertise in rice production, processing and trade.
He closed with a direct message to the international delegates present. “I assure all international delegates that the government is committed to creating a seamless, predictable and business-friendly environment,” he said. “When industry grows, the nation grows with it.”