Tuesday, 17 June 2025
The Institute has forged a strategic partnership with the Tamil Nadu Agri Business and Food Processing Export Corporation to bolster market access and unlock new export opportunities across the agri-food sector.
In a major step toward transforming Tamil Nadu’s agriculture and food processing landscape, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has entered into a strategic partnership with the State Government to drive sustainable rural development, agri-business innovation, and inclusive economic growth.
The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently between IIT Madras and the Tamil Nadu Agri Business and Food Processing Export Corporation (TNAPEx), the apex government body responsible for promoting food processing and agricultural exports in the state. The signing ceremony took place at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat in the presence of Dr. Atul Anand, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Welcoming IIT Madras’ involvement, Dr. Anand reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to revitalizing rural supply chains, minimizing post-harvest losses, and improving farmer incomes through targeted innovations and collaborative initiatives.
“IIT Madras brings deep academic expertise and technological strength to this mission. This collaboration will be pivotal in scaling agri-enterprises and ensuring sustainable value creation in rural Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, emphasized the institute’s multidisciplinary approach to solving real-world challenges and laid out a comprehensive plan to enhance operational efficiency, product marketability, and overall sustainability in the state’s agri-business ecosystem.
The MoU outlines joint efforts in key areas including skilling rural youth in agri-entrepreneurship, optimizing supply chains, improving packaging and branding, enhancing market access and export readiness, and evaluating the impact of government schemes for better outcomes.
Dr. K. Alagusundaram, Managing Director and CEO, TNAPEx, highlighted the strategic value of academic-industry partnerships in connecting rural micro-enterprises to global markets. “Our aim is to make Tamil Nadu’s food processing sector more competitive, resilient, and globally relevant—and this partnership with IIT Madras is a step in that direction,” he said.
The initiative will be led by a team from the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, including Prof. Arshinder Kaur, Prof. G. Arun Kumar, and Prof. Vaibhav Chawla, under the guidance of Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (IC&SR), and Dr. Saji Mathew, Head of the Department. Their work will focus on research, training, and consulting for food processing and agri-based MSMEs in Tamil Nadu.
Also present at the MoU ceremony were Prof. V. Palanimuthu, Director, NIFTEM–Thanjavur; Dr. N. Felix, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University (TNJFU); and Dr. K. N. Selvakumar, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), further underscoring the multi-institutional approach to advancing Tamil Nadu’s agri-food sector.
