New Delhi : In a major step towards strengthening the integration of agriculture, nutrition, and public health, Indian Council of Medical Research and Indian Council of Agricultural Research jointly launched “SEHAT – Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation,” a national mission-mode initiative aimed at translating agricultural advancements into measurable health benefits for citizens across India. The initiative seeks to create a strong convergence between the health and agriculture sectors to address emerging public health and nutritional challenges through evidence-based and sustainable solutions.
The SEHAT initiative was formally unveiled by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the presence of senior policymakers, scientists, researchers, and stakeholders from the health and agriculture sectors. The programme has been envisioned as a transformative national mission focused on aligning agricultural innovation with nutrition security, preventive healthcare, farmer well-being, and the broader One Health framework.
Addressing the gathering, Shri J.P. Nadda described the launch of SEHAT as a historic milestone and highlighted the transformation in India’s healthcare approach under the leadership of Narendra Modi. He stated that over the last decade, India has shifted from a predominantly reactive and curative healthcare model to a proactive, preventive, and holistic framework driven by innovation and scientific research. According to the Minister, SEHAT reflects this paradigm shift by promoting integrated and technology-driven solutions to improve public health outcomes.
Shri Nadda also emphasized the importance of inter-sectoral collaboration, noting that the partnership between ICMR and ICAR represents a new model of coordinated governance and scientific integration. He highlighted India’s transition from dependence on imported technologies to the development of indigenous and data-driven innovations tailored to Indian needs. Stressing the government’s commitment to affordable and quality healthcare, he underlined the need for low-cost, high-quality indigenous innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines, while assuring that financial resources for impactful research and innovation would not be a constraint.
The Health Minister further pointed out that India currently faces a dual burden of persistent malnutrition and rising lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. He stressed that nutrition and food systems hold the key to addressing these challenges and reiterated the importance of promoting healthier dietary habits. Shri Nadda observed that while ICAR can contribute significantly to developing nutritious and sustainable food systems, ICMR’s scientific validation of such interventions would ensure effective implementation and evidence-based policymaking. He called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-system approach to build a healthier and stronger India.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan highlighted the deep connection between agriculture and health, stating that a healthy nation can only be built on the foundation of a well-nourished population. Describing the collaboration between ICMR and ICAR as “historic and unprecedented,” he stressed the importance of aligning agricultural production with nutritional and healthcare requirements. Shri Chouhan emphasized that scientific evidence demonstrating the health benefits of specific crops and agricultural practices would play a crucial role in improving public health outcomes across the country.
The Agriculture Minister further noted that the SEHAT mission would help ensure that agricultural production systems are designed in accordance with the nutritional needs of the population. He also highlighted the mission’s focus on organic and sustainable farming practices, which can contribute significantly to improving health and environmental sustainability. Stressing the importance of public awareness, Shri Chouhan said educating people about healthy dietary choices and lifestyle management is essential in combating non-communicable diseases. He expressed confidence that SEHAT would strengthen the vision of “food as medicine” and advance the broader goals of the One Health mission.
Highlighting the rationale behind the initiative, Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General of ICMR, Rajiv Bahl, stated that India’s growing burden of undernutrition, overnutrition, and lifestyle diseases requires a strong alignment between agriculture and public health. He emphasized that agriculture must evolve beyond food production and become a central pillar of nutrition security and disease prevention. Dr. Bahl outlined the key focus areas of SEHAT, including the evaluation of biofortified crops, promotion of integrated farming systems, occupational health of agricultural workers, and strengthening One Health preparedness through integrated research and surveillance.
The SEHAT mission will focus on five major national priority areas: development of nutrient-rich and biofortified crop varieties to combat malnutrition; strengthening integrated farming systems to promote dietary diversity and improve farmer incomes; addressing occupational health risks faced by agricultural workers; promoting agriculture-based interventions for prevention and management of non-communicable diseases; and enhancing One Health preparedness through integrated human-animal-environment health research and surveillance systems.
The launch of SEHAT marks a significant step towards building a more integrated and sustainable public health ecosystem by leveraging agricultural transformation as a key driver of nutrition, preventive healthcare, and national well-being. The initiative is expected to generate strong scientific evidence, scalable models, and data-driven policy frameworks that will contribute to a healthier, more resilient, and nutritionally secure India.