Agriculture, circularity, climate partnerships and long-term institutional building were in focus for Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF) this month.
March was a month of movement and execution at Marico Innovation Foundation (MIF). Our focus remained on a central question: what does it take to help promising ideas scale in the real world? Across conversations, content, convenings, and on-ground work, the emphasis stayed on understanding what works, and what holds up at scale.
Work on the agri-pilot continued this month, moving into a more engaged phase of implementation. The focus was on holding awareness sessions to introduce farmers to the technologies and their role in reducing post-harvest losses. A baseline survey covering 1,000 farmers across Mirzapur and Varanasi was also completed, establishing an early understanding of on-ground challenges. In parallel, site preparations for installation of these technologies is progressing.
It was also International Women’s Day on 8th March, a moment to recognise the critical role of women in agriculture. As 2026 places a spotlight on women farmers, the pilot’s on-ground work served as a reminder of their central role in strengthening agricultural systems.
This systems approach continues to shape the work across the Marico ecosystem—from advancing recyclable packaging to strengthening recovery systems and contributing to platforms such as the India Plastics Pact.
At Marico Innovation Foundation, this means bringing together innovators, industry stakeholders, and ecosystem partners through platforms like SCALE. The emphasis is on enabling solutions that are innovative, but also viable within existing systems. The Innovation in Plastics playbook, on the Potential and Possibilities is one such knowledge product from MIF.
Yet even as circularity gains momentum across the ecosystem, one question remains: how do promising recycling innovations move from technical readiness to real-world scale?
Innovation often hits a bottleneck between the laboratory and the marketplace.
In our article revisiting key ideas from SCALE 2026, we examined this gap: the distance between technological readiness and actual processing volumes. While recycling technologies continue to advance, their movement into large-scale application remains uneven.
The reasons are structural: fragmented supply chains, inconsistent waste streams, and limited demand for recycled materials.
Global Recycling Day was established to recognize recycling as a “Seventh Resource” alongside water, air, oil, natural gas, coal, and minerals.
As global climate conversations evolve, the focus is shifting from “commitments” to “corridors.” In a recent reflection, Marico Limited Chairman Harsh Mariwala emphasized that for India to achieve its net-zero goals, it must leverage international cooperation to scale green technologies.
In an authored piece for Business World, Mr. Mariwala outlined the India-UK-Europe Green Corridor as a vital framework for decarbonisation. He identified three essential levers for this transition: capital, technology, and markets.
Together, they point to a broader principle: progress becomes possible when ecosystems move together.
A perspective on long-term impact emerged in a recent feature by CSR Universe, where Suranjana Ghosh, Head, Marico Innovation Foundation, spoke about the importance of building institutions that endure.
Her reflections highlight the role of patient capital, collaborative networks, and sustained engagement with on-ground realities. These are often less visible parts of impact—but critical to ensuring that progress is achieved, and sustained.
True: The initiative highlights that recycling is vital to preserving natural resources and reducing the world’s carbon footprint.
March reinforced a simple truth. Complex problems don’t just need good ideas. They need systems to help those ideas scale.
As we head into April, we remain focused on the field, the ecosystem, and the institutions that can help shape India’s innovation future.
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Implementation, demonstrations and farmer feedback take center stage in the latest phase of Marico Innovation Foundation’s Agri-Tech Pilot
Scaling ideas, strengthening systems, and turning innovation into action across farms and climate platforms in India.
How MIF, Samunnati Foundation and agri-startups are piloting solutions in Mirzapur and Varanasi
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