Key takeaways from IIP's packaging confabulations

Key stakeholders like the members from the packaging material and machinery manufacturing sectors, user industries, brands, academicians, IIP staff, alumni, and students participated in the event. The programme had four sessions addressing the current state and the future of IIP’s role in shaping the packaging industry in India.

Sunil Barthwal, IAS, Commerce Secretary was the chief guest at the event. He outlined the growth prospects of India's packaging industry. He identified key focus areas like enhancing product appeal, sustainable packaging solutions, and addressing the needs of the booming e-commerce sector. 

In his keynote address, Barthwal outlined the future growth prospects of India's packaging industry. He identified several key focus areas including enhancing product appeal and functionality, efficient containerization for global reach, sustainable packaging solutions, and addressing the needs of the booming e-commerce sector.

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, IAS, Additional Secretary was the guest of honour. He emphasised the critical role of innovative packaging systems in reducing food waste and post-harvest losses, which are essential for maintaining India's export surplus. Sarangi called for collaboration among government, industry and academia to create a skilled workforce and foster a thriving food ecosystem with minimal waste.

There were some key takeaways from the event. One of the highlights was a focus on domestic R&D in packaging to support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and reduce dependency on imports. The event emphasised developing sustainable packaging solutions, including returnable, reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable options.

Enhanced collaboration between the government, industry, academia, and startups to drive innovation and address industry challenges was spoken about during the event, alongside expanding educational programs at IIP to develop a skilled workforce, including new undergraduate and postgraduate programs, short-term courses, and faculty development initiatives.

The event also focussed on efforts to align with international packaging standards and regulations to boost global competitiveness and the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotics, and automation to improve manufacturing processes and material development.

Initiatives to support community food businesses through packaging design, marketing mentorship, and sustainability education were spotlighted, alongside significant investments in infrastructure development at IIP laboratories to support advanced research and testing.

The hiring of faculty and skilled manpower to support expanded educational and research initiatives and the establishment of a pilot manufacturing plant to facilitate practical training and industry collaboration were some of the takeaways from the event too. In the same breadth, the set-up of incubations to support startups and develop a knowledge centre to disseminate information, research and industry insights in the packaging industry.

The Chintan Shivir programme marked a step forward in shaping the future of India's packaging industry.