The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, successfully concluded the first cohort of its flagship export enablement and accelerator programme BHARATI (Bharat Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement and Incubation for Export Innovation). The programme seeks to drive innovation-led growth in line with India's goal of raising APEDA-scheduled product exports to USD 50 billion by 2030. The first cohort comprised 100 startups from 22 states and 2 Union Territories, selected through a multi-stage evaluation from over 700 applications received nationwide. It included 68 agri-food product startups, 26 export-enabling technology and service providers, and 6 innovators working in Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, traceability, quality assurance and compliance. Participants, aged 17 to 75 years, underwent a 120-hour structured accelerator covering export-readiness, market access, business expansion, regulatory compliance, packaging, branding and investor-readiness, with one-to-one mentorship and masterclasses. As part of international market exposure, APEDA enabled eight top BHARATI startups to participate in Gulfood 2026 in Dubai, one of the world's largest food and beverage trade exhibitions, where over 100 B2B meetings were held. Within three months of launch, supported startups recorded significant export wins, including 37 metric tonnes of GI-tagged Jardalu mangoes to Dubai and millet-based products to Auckland, New Zealand. APEDA Chairman Shri Abhishek Dev (IAS) said the programme reflects APEDA's commitment to building a future-ready, globally competitive export ecosystem. APEDA will soon launch the next edition of the programme.