India Honey Alliance hosts 4th AGM, boosts commitment to Atmanirbhar Honey Ecosystem

The India Honey Alliance (IHA) convened its fourth Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 16th September 2025 at the India International Center, New Delhi, drawing more than a hundred representatives from across the honey value chain—beekeepers, farmer–producer organisations (FPOs), aggregators, brand retailers, exporters, scientists, and policymakers. The gathering celebrated IHA's continued progress in unifying the sector, amplifying beekeeper welfare, testing systems and building consumer trust in Indian honey.

Presiding over the meeting were Deepak Jolly, Secretary-General, IHA, and Namrata Khanna, Director, IHA. The session opened with a ceremonial lamp-lighting, followed by a comprehensive review of milestones achieved since the previous AGM—including expanded technical training programmes, collaborative research projects to create National database for Indian honey, and a comprehensive consumer education campaign on honey aimed at boosting domestic and international market confidence.

Dr. Satyen Panda, advisor (Quality Assurance) & executive director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), highlighted the transformative policy developments "A task force has been made part of the decision-making at the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), and this is among the best initiatives for Indian honey. We will now develop our own database, which is a prime focal point of Atmanirbhar Bharat. I truly commend the Indian Honey Alliance for this initiative and MoFPI for spearheading it. Additionally, we need specialized training programs on honey testing, so that all parameters can be analyzed, as many labs currently lack the capability for complete testing."

Suneeti Toteja, head – FAD, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) emphasized the critical role of standardization in ensuring consumer confidence. "In the honey sector, where a negative narrative sometimes emerges, it is important to have strong standards to ensure that what consumers get is pure, good-quality, and safe honey. The Apiary Sectional Committee under BIS has already developed around 20 standards for the sector, covering beehives, beekeeper kits, package bee boxes, and more. In addition, two new projects have been identified—creating a database of quality parameters for Indian bee propolis and generating a database on the asset value of Indian beeswax."

K.K. Dash, additional commissioner, National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), delivered a concise overview of NBHM support, highlighting how the mission continues empowering beekeepers through world-class labs, custom-hiring centers, women-centric programmes, and project-based assistance—already registering over 15,500 beekeepers on the 'Madhu Kanti' portal.

The AGM welcomed several key developments, including the commissioning of new honey-testing laboratories and enhanced partnership frameworks with NIFTEM-K for professional training programmes. A pilot blockchain-enabled traceability module will be rolled out to select FPOs, while a nationwide consumer-awareness campaign will launch ahead of peak festival season to educate buyers on authentic-honey identification.

Narayanan Renganathan, chairperson, IHA, outlined the Alliance's forward-looking strategy. "In the next decade, it is the domestic industry that must take the lead in taking the Indian honey sector to the next level. We are grateful to the Inter-Ministerial Committee under the leadership of MoFPI, which marks a major success for the India Honey Alliance. Looking ahead, our focus will be on awareness and marketing programs to clearly communicate honey’s quality and purity to consumers. In every step we take, both beekeepers and consumers will remain at the core of our decisions."

The AGM concluded with the adoption of a strategic roadmap targeting enhanced export competitiveness and expanded professional training programmes, reinforcing IHA's commitment to building a robust, transparent, and farmer-centric honey ecosystem.