FICCI - ARE Report on Charting Indiaâs Protein Transition Building resilient food systems for a secure future
Charting India’s Protein Transition examines how India’s growing protein demand could shape the country’s food, nutrition, environmental and economic systems through 2070. The report assesses four potential pathways business-as-usual, production-side mitigation, demand diversification, and an integrated transition pathway. It highlights the need to improve efficiency across dairy, poultry and seafood while strengthening pulses, traditional plant proteins and emerging alternatives. The analysis emphasises that India’s protein transition will need to balance nutrition security, affordability, sustainability, resource availability and livelihoods.
Key Takeaways
- India’s per-capita protein consumption is projected to increase from 9.5 kg in 2025 to 30 kg by 2070, creating significant demand and sustainability challenges.
- Dairy and pulses are expected to remain major protein sources, alongside continued growth in eggs, poultry and seafood.
- Production-side efficiency improvements are important, but the modelling indicates that mitigation alone may not be sufficient to address future emissions.
- Greater protein diversification, including pulses, traditional plant proteins and emerging alternatives, can further reduce emissions and resource pressures.
- The integrated pathway combines production efficiency, protein diversification and healthier long-term demand boundaries, resulting in the lowest modelled emissions among the four pathways.
- The report stresses that the transition should remain inclusive and resilient, with attention to farmers, MSMEs, affordability, food safety, livelihoods, innovation and supply-chain resilience.
