New Delhi [India], May 11 : In a major step towards strengthening the link between agriculture, nutrition and public health, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research jointly launched "SEHAT - Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation", a national mission-mode programme aimed at translating agricultural advancements into improved health outcomes for the people of India.
According to the release, a joint initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was unveiled by Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, along with Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, in the august presence of senior policymakers, eminent scientists, and key stakeholders.
Addressing the gathering, Union Health Minister JP Nadda described the launch of SEHAT as a "historic step" and underscored the transformative shift in India's public health approach under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He noted that over the past decade, the country has moved decisively from a reactive and curative model of healthcare to a proactive, preventive, and holistic approach, driven by forward-looking policy interventions. He emphasised that SEHAT is a direct outcome of this paradigm shift.
He congratulated the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for coming together to launch this important joint initiative, highlighting it as a model of inter-sectoral collaboration.
Nadda further stated that in the last ten years, India has transitioned from dependence on imported technologies to the development of indigenous, home-grown innovations based on Indian data and needs. He noted that earlier, systems often functioned in silos, whereas today they are increasingly integrated and technology-driven, enabling more efficient and effective healthcare delivery.
Outlining the Government's vision, he emphasised the commitment to expanding access to affordable and high-quality healthcare, with a strong focus on prevention, early detection, and continuum of care. He highlighted the pivotal role of ICMR in advancing research, generating evidence, and guiding policy in this direction, while also underlining its responsibility in nurturing a robust innovation ecosystem.
He stressed the need to identify India's critical health challenges and develop targeted solutions, noting that financial resources would not be a constraint. He underscored the importance of outcome-based funding and accountability, adding that innovations must be low-cost, high-quality, and indigenous, particularly in the areas of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Drawing attention to the country's evolving health profile, Nadda observed that India is currently facing a dual burden of disease, with persistent malnutrition on one hand and a rising prevalence of non-communicable and lifestyle diseasessuch as hypertension, diabetes, and canceron the other. He highlighted the central role of diet and nutrition in addressing these challenges and reiterated the call of the Prime Minister for reduced consumption of sugar, salt, and oil.
He noted that while ICAR can play a critical role in ensuring the availability of nutritious and appropriate food systems, ICMR's role in validating these interventions through scientific evidence would be equally important. Emphasising the need for convergence, he stated that many of the solutions to emerging health challenges lie within the agriculture sector.
Concluding his address, Nadda underlined the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-system approach, for which integration of science, policy, and implementation is required. He noted that SEHAT represents a significant step in this direction and expressed confidence that such coordinated efforts would pave the way for a healthier and stronger India.
Speaking at the Occasion, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, emphasised the intrinsic link between agriculture and health, noting that the foundation of a healthy nation lies in a well-nourished population. Referring to wisdom from ancient Indian texts, he highlighted the importance accorded to a healthy body as the basis of overall well-being and national progress.
He described the joint initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research as "unprecedented and historic", underscoring that agriculture and health goes hand in hand in addressing emerging public health challenges.
Chouhan further highlighted the importance of generating scientific evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of specific crops and agricultural practices, noting that such validation would have far-reaching implications for improving nutrition and public health outcomes. He emphasised that what is consumed plays a critical role in determining health, and stressed the need to align agricultural production with nutritional requirements.
He stated that the SEHAT mission would serve as a cornerstone in ensuring that the food produced is aligned with the health needs of the population. He also highlighted the five priority pillars of the mission and underscored the need to promote organic and sustainable agricultural practices, which would contribute significantly to improving the health of citizens.
Emphasising the role of awareness, Chouhan noted that educating people about what to eat and what to avoidparticularly in the context of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertensionis essential. He remarked that with the right approach, food itself can become medicine, and expressed confidence that the SEHAT mission would play a vital role in advancing this vision and contributing to the broader goal of One Health.
SEHAT has been envisioned as a mission-mode initiative to strategically align agricultural research and innovation with national priorities in nutrition, preventive and promotive healthcare, non-communicable diseases, farmer well-being, and One Health.
The mission focuses on five priority areas of national significance, including the development and evaluation of biofortified and nutrient-dense crop varieties to address malnutrition and improve nutritional status; strengthening integrated farming systems to promote dietary diversification, enhance farm incomes, and build resilience; addressing occupational health risks among agricultural workers through targeted, evidence-based interventions; advancing agriculture-enabled strategies for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases through the promotion of functional foods and nutritionally superior crop varieties; and strengthening One Health preparedness through integrated surveillance, diagnostics, and research at the human-animal-environment interface.
The launch of SEHAT marks an important step towards adopting an integrated approach to health by leveraging agricultural transformation as a key determinant of public health outcomes.
Bhagirath Choudhary, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare; Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary DARE & DG, ICAR; Ms. Anu Nagar, Additional Secretary, DHR; Dr. D.K. Yadava, DDG CS, ICAR were also present at the event.
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