Sneha Singh, Managing Director of Good Food Institute (GFI) India, brings a unique blend of biomedical science expertise and strategic leadership to her role, which she has held since 2019. A graduate of Manchester University with a Masters in International Human Resource Management, Sneha draws on over a decade of experience in nonprofit and public sector leadership spanning education and environmental causes. Known for her inclusive vision, she fosters organizational cultures where innovation and people thrive together. Passionate about sustainable, incremental change, Sneha leads GFI India’s team with a focus on shaping a resilient and equitable future of food. In this exclusive interview with Rashmi Kumari of Neo Science Hub, Sneha explains how GFI India is catalyzing regulatory clarity, agricultural innovation, and inclusive growth in the country’s alternative protein sector.
How is GFI India working with FSSAI and DBT to establish clear regulatory pathways for cultivated meat and precision fermentation products, and what timeline do you foresee for commercial approvals?
Currently, smart proteins like cultivated meat and precision fermentation-derived proteins are not defined within the regulatory framework in India, but are regulated as a novel food under the Approval of Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients Regulations (NSF Regulations). Under the NSF Regulations, the companies are required to apply for prior approval from FSSAI before beginning the manufacturing, production, or import of a non-specified food (including novel) product. After seeking prior approval, the food business operator may apply for licensing to get the product to the consumers. FSSAI provided prior approval for Perfect Day’s precision fermentation-derived non animal whey protein in 2022 which is the only company to receive approval from FSSAI to sell animal-free whey protein made using precision fermentation.
GFI India actively engages with the FSSAI, as the apex food regulator by making representations and sharing scientific literature on safety aspects of cultivated meat and precision fermentation-derived inputs to support the regulator in providing further clarity to cultivated meat and precision fermentation derived companies. The FSSAI has shown thought leadership in organising dialogues to discuss these nnovel technologies at the Global Food Regulators Summit. With DBT-BIRAC, our inputs, recommendations and technical presentations as a part of the smart protein expert committee have directly contributed to smart proteins being recognised as a priority area under India’s BioE3 policy in 2024—marking a major step toward integrating smart proteins into the national bioeconomy strategy. The BioE3 policy has identified a clear regulatory path to market for smart proteins including CM and PFD inputs as an area of work to achieve the goals of the policy.
GFI India’s website offers a snapshot of novel food regulations around the world and the current regulatory framework for alternative proteins.
Your Indigenous Crops Initiative focuses on millets and pulses as smart protein raw materials. How can leveraging India’s agricultural biodiversity give the country a competitive advantage in global alternative protein markets?
India’s strong agricultural base, including a diverse portfolio of climate-resilient, protein-rich crops and availability of raw materials at scale, uniquely positions it to be a global manufacturing and export hub for smart proteins. Millets, pulses, and oilseeds are already key agenda items of Indian agricultural policy and offer promising sources for alternative protein applications. Notably, government initiatives like the Global R&D Hub for millets in India (announced in the Union Budget 2023, with a total budget outlay of ₹250 crore, for the period from 2023-24 to 2025-26.), Mission for AtmaNirbharta in Pulses (announced in the Union Budget 2025) and the National Mission on Edible Oils–Oilseeds reflect growing momentum to develop indigenous plant proteins and reduce reliance on imports.
These underutilised crops, including mung beans, chickpeas, amaranth, pongamia, and pigeon pea have immense potential to become value-added smart protein products, bringing in better returns and more stable supply chains for farmer. Growing these indigenous crops also far outpace conventional cash crops in terms of climate resilience and resource efficiency. Unlike monoculture cereals such as rice and wheat, which make up the majority of current Indian diets, these nitrogen-fixing hardy crops grow well under regional agro-climatic conditions, needing fewer external inputs. They deliver strong nutritional profiles that are well-suited for plant-based meat formulations. Varieties like finger millet contain all nine essential amino acids and have a high protein digestibility profile, while amaranth boasts a 14% protein content.
According to GFI’s report anticipating the production requirements for plant-based meat, the industry would have to fulfil an expected minimum of 25 million metric tonnes in annual global market demand by 2030. Achieving this would require a 3–10 fold increase in the supply of ingredients to the current value chain. Indian ingredient manufacturers working with indigenous crops have a profitable opportunity to plug into the global value chain and offer diversified inputs at low costs for plant-based alternatives and other smart proteins.
With India’s robust pharmaceutical and fermentation infrastructure, how can the country transition its biomanufacturing capabilities to become a precision fermentation hub for animal-free dairy and proteins?
With the Indian bioeconomy projected to reach $300 billion by 2030, the fermentation sector has the potential to scale rapidly, building on India’s robust biomanufacturing ecosystem. Our biotechnology and industrial fermentation sectors are largely mature, thanks to decades of activity in pharmaceuticals, enzymes and biofuels. Many Indian companies already operate fermenters, have skilled bioprocess engineers, and can access relatively cheaper feedstocks from the country’s vast agricultural base. Much of this infrastructure can be adapted for food-grade fermentation. Existing fermentation facilities can be retrofitted for smart protein production, dramatically reducing capital expenditure required to build new facilities. India’s talent from adjacent biotechnology and biopharma sectors can also play a vital role in cracking the scale-up for biomanufacturing animal free dairy and other smart proteins via precision fermentation.
Several start-ups are beginning to seize this opportunity, such as Zero Cow Factory, Phyx44, and StringBio, who are currently in various stages of R&D, scale-up, or regulatory application.
What role does GFI India envision for small-scale farmers and indigenous crops in ensuring that the smart protein transition is equitable and economically inclusive across India’s diverse agricultural landscape?
The success of smart proteins is deeply rooted in India’s existing agricultural value chains, despite being novel innovations. For farmers, a stable demand for these new protein sources can create diversified demand for indigenous crops. This in turn can reduce farmers’ dependence on resource-intensive cash crops and improve and diversify farmer incomes, whilst using far fewer natural resources than cash crops and also helping agricultural lands and soils regenerate. Alternative protein companies sourcing from India can directly collaborate with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), creating sustainable and transparent supply chains, which not only ensure access to premium raw materials but also strengthen the livelihoods of Indian farmers and support our climate goals.
Smart protein innovation also presents a compelling opportunity to valorise agricultural and food processing side-streams, which can provide farmers with additional income streams beyond harvest. Low-value crop residues–such as sugarcane bagasse, wheat bran, and rice husk–can be transformed into commercially viable inputs for producing fermentation-derived proteins and ingredients.
Over the next year, GFI India will be working with partner organisations to assess the socio-economic impacts of alternative protein adoption, such as advancing nutrition security and farmer livelihoods, in addition to reducing AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use) sector emissions.
