At Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on Friday, 23 October 2026, Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan opened the 2nd Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2026 as Chief Guest — positioning India's rice sector centre-stage before an audience of international delegates gathered for a three-day global conclave.

India's rice dominance sets the stage at Bharat Mandapam

India holds a commanding position in global rice trade — the country emerged as the world's largest rice exporter during the 2010s, a status built on expanded cultivation, aggressive trade facilitation, and a series of Ministry of Food Processing Industries initiatives stretching back to the 2000s. BIRC 2026 lands squarely inside that story. Inaugurating the conference, Paswan welcomed delegates and framed India's intent plainly: the country is 'committed to strengthening its global leadership through innovation, value addition and sustainable food processing.'

That phrase — 'value addition' — is the operative one. Raw rice exports are one thing; processed, branded, and value-added rice products command far higher margins and insulate farmers from commodity price swings. The Ministry has consistently pushed infrastructure investment along the post-harvest chain, and BIRC 2026 is, in part, a platform to accelerate that agenda.

Viksit Bharat 2047 and the farmer at the centre

Paswan tied the conference explicitly to Viksit Bharat 2047 — the government's overarching vision for India to graduate to developed-nation status by the centenary of Independence. Agriculture and food processing are load-bearing pillars of that blueprint: farmer income, rural employment, and export earnings all feed into it. By hosting a global rice conference at Bharat Mandapam — one of the country's most prominent convention venues — the Ministry is signalling that rice is not just a staple crop but a strategic export commodity deserving the same institutional attention as manufacturing or services.

The three-day format gives delegates, policymakers, and industry representatives space to move beyond ceremonial speeches into substantive sessions on sustainable cultivation, processing technology, and trade facilitation. Announcements on new rice processing schemes or export facilitation measures could emerge before the conference closes.

What BIRC means for rice farmers and exporters

The conference brings together rice farmers, food-processing companies, and exporters under one roof with international counterparts — a configuration that rarely happens outside formal trade negotiations. For small and marginal farmers who grow the bulk of India's rice, the downstream payoff depends on whether the policy signals from BIRC translate into accessible credit, better storage infrastructure, and market linkages. For exporters, the conversation around sustainable practices matters increasingly as importing nations tighten environmental and quality standards. Paswan's framing — 'empowering our farmers' alongside 'global leadership' — suggests the Ministry is trying to hold both ends of that chain simultaneously.