Chirag Paswan Urges Food Tech Graduates to Become Job Creators
- Call for youth agri-food startups
- 260 NIFTEM-K graduates awarded degrees
- Push for rural processing infrastructure
- Strict focus on export quality
India wants its food technology graduates building agribusiness startups at the farm gate rather than chasing corporate cubicles. Addressing the seventh convocation of the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management in Kundli, Union Minister Chirag Paswan challenged emerging food scientists to launch enterprises that solve persistent post-harvest losses and modernize rural supply chains.
Paswan issued a direct warning on manufacturing quality, noting that product defects do not merely damage individual brands but undermine the global credibility of Brand India. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is pushing to move cold chains and processing technology closer to rural production clusters, ensuring farmers retain more profit from value addition before produce reaches city markets.
The push comes as commercial food logistics gain priority across India's domestic market of 1.4 billion consumers. Industry leaders speaking at the convocation noted that food processing remains remarkably recession-resilient compared to discretionary goods. A total of 260 students graduated across doctoral, postgraduate, and engineering streams, stepping into an ecosystem searching for scalable solutions in sustainable food preservation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Chirag Paswan urge food technology graduates to do?
He urged graduating students at NIFTEM-K to launch startups and become job creators rather than seeking employment, focusing on rural value addition and reducing crop wastage.
Why is product quality a key focus for India's food processing sector?
The government stressed that product quality directly impacts the international credibility of Brand India in overseas export markets.
How many students graduated at the 7th NIFTEM-K convocation?
A total of 260 students received degrees across B.Tech, M.Tech, MBA, and Ph.D. programs, with eight students awarded gold medals for academic excellence.
Source
Press Information Bureau Release ID 2321457, Ministry of Food Processing Industries · 2026-10-09
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