The Bharti Institute of Public Policy (BIPP) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) hosted the second edition of its Governance Summit, focusing on “Food Systems: Balancing Equity and Sustainability”. The one-day summit brought together over 120 delegates, including policymakers, industry experts, and thought leaders, to foster dialogue on critical issues and emerging trends shaping the future of food systems in India.
The highlight of the event was the launch of the Food Systems Visualisation Engine (FSVE), a unique data visualization tool that combines information from various domains, including agriculture, rural development, nutrition, and public distribution, to serve as a collaborative decision-making platform for stakeholders. The FSVE addresses the lack of visibility in food systems, allowing data to be used intuitively by all stakeholders.
Speaking at the inaugural plenary, KAP Sinha, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Punjab, emphasized the importance of balancing equity and sustainability in policymaking, noting the challenge of aligning individual and societal interests. “Equity and Sustainability are the two most important needs of a just society. Incidentally, policymakers, governments are always trying to balance the two. What makes this even more challenging is often when individual interest envelops the general interest of society,” he said.
Professor Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director of BIPP, highlighted the need to address the large nutrition gap in India, especially among the economically weaker sections, and the role of technology and market-based solutions in supporting the poor.
“We believe that while India is self-sufficient in food production, self-sufficient in calories, it is not self-sufficient in nutrition. Our nutritional status is abysmal. There is a lack of nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium, etc., in our foods due to regional disparities. Food is much more than a mechanism to reduce hunger. We must fill the large nutrition gap that exists in India, especially among children and women of the economically weaker sections of society. We need to find market actors who can make profits on a sufficiently small scale that requires us to use technology intelligently so we can support the poor. What we need is cultural and behavioural change,” he said.
The summit also featured panel discussions on sustainable agriculture, climate-smart practices, and the convergence of agriculture and nutrition, underscoring the complex interplay of factors affecting food systems and the need for a multifaceted approach to achieve equity and sustainability.
