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Union Ministers Nadda & Chouhan launch ‘Sehat Mission’
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Wednesday, 13 May, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and Chemicals and Fertilisers, JP Nadda, and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, launched ‘Sehat Mission’ in Delhi, describing it as a major national initiative under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that seeks to connect agriculture, nutrition and public health through scientific collaboration.
The mission has been jointly launched by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), with the objective of building a framework for ‘Healthy Food, Healthy Farms and a Healthy India’. Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Bhagirath Choudhary, ICMR director general Dr Rajiv Bahl and ICAR director general Dr ML Jat were also present during the launch programme.
Addressing the gathering, Nadda said the ‘Sehat Mission’ represents a major transformation in India’s policy-making approach, where the government is no longer focusing only on treatment but also on prevention, early detection and continuous care. He said the initiative demonstrates that India is now moving ahead with a proactive rather than reactive healthcare approach.
Nadda said that agricultural and health institutions in the country had, for decades, functioned separately, but the coming together of ICAR and ICMR marks the beginning of a new era of science-based and evidence-driven solutions. According to him, the mission will play a significant role in addressing both malnutrition and the rapidly rising burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. He said India must now develop indigenous solutions rooted in its own scientific research, institutional experience and evidence-based practices.
“Low-cost, high-quality and scientifically validated solutions will be the most useful for the country, and ICMR is fully committed to working in this direction,” Nadda said.
He further said that the ‘Sehat Mission’ is not merely a standalone programme but an example of a “whole of government” and “whole of systems” approach, in which science, policymaking, and implementation mechanisms must function together in an integrated manner. He expressed confidence that the mission would make a major contribution towards building a healthier and stronger India.
Chouhan described the launch of the ‘Sehat Mission’ as a historic and unprecedented step for the country, saying it would establish a strong framework for building a healthy India by integrating farming, nutrition and healthcare.
Chouhan said, “Our Indian tradition has always regarded a healthy body as the greatest form of happiness and that good health is fundamentally dependent on proper food. He stressed that India must now move beyond the goal of merely increasing agricultural production and instead focus on producing food that provides nutrition, protects people from diseases and improves overall quality of life.”
The Union Minister referred to the Indian philosophical principles of “Hitbhuk, Mitbhuk and Ritubhuk”, saying these ideas remain relevant because beneficial, balanced and seasonal food forms the true foundation of health. He said the time has come for India to seriously deliberate not only on “what people should eat” but also on “what the country should grow.”
Chouhan said that the ‘Sehat Mission’ has been launched with precisely this objective in mind, with ICAR and ICMR joining hands to create a scientific chain connecting farms, food plates and public health. He said the mission would focus on bio-fortified crops, nutrient-rich food products, integrated farming systems, health and safety measures for farmers, dietary solutions for lifestyle diseases and the ‘One Health’ approach.
Chouhan said that India has adequate foodgrain production, but the country’s next major target should be nutrition-rich agricultural production. He emphasised the need to promote bio-fortified crops and varieties enriched with zinc, iron and other nutrients, as well as traditional grains such as kodo millet, kutki, jowar, ragi and bajra.
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