In this episode of the State of Economy Podcast, businessline’s Subramani Ra Mancombu speaks with Chirag Jain, Partner and Food Processing Industry Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. As India steps into the 2025–26 agricultural year, the forecast of an above-normal southwest monsoon brings cautious optimism. 

Jain outlines the opportunities and challenges facing the sector — from record production in key crops like wheat, rice, and maize to shifting cultivation trends driven by rising demand for pulses, oilseeds, and maize due to both consumption patterns and industrial use, including ethanol.  

The episode discusses how government schemes, technological integration, and targeted missions are reshaping production, while also tackling key issues like infrastructure gaps, market access, and MSP-related crop distortions. 

Listeners will also gain insights into the broader rural economy — how initiatives like PM-KISAN, rural banking, and micro-enterprise funding are boosting consumption and demand in India’s heartland.

(Host: Subramani Ra Mancombu Producer: Prethicshaa Gurumoorthy)  

About the State of the Economy podcast   

India’s economy has been hailed as a bright spot amid the general gloom that seems to have enveloped the rest of the world. But several sectors continue to stutter even as others seem to set to fire on all cylinders. 

Published on June 15, 2025