Smart Protein Project
Introduction
What is the Smart Protein Project?
The Smart Protein Project (SPP) is GFI India’s iteration of the Alt Protein Project (APP)—a talent development initiative that aims to support:
- universities with coursework development to enable a robust talent pipeline for the smart protein space
- student leaders to grow an active community that raises awareness and generates discourse around smart protein
- scientific research and entrepreneurship to address critical whitespaces at the university level.
By engaging students and academic communities across India, the Smart Protein Project helps unearth emerging talent, ideas, and technical perspectives across the smart protein ecosystem. The student chapters’ activities contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolving R&D needs of the sector, strengthening the knowledge and insights that inform GFI India’s work.
Smart Protein Project mentors:
- Chaitanya Chilukuri: Regional mentor, All India SPP chapters
- Ashutosh Tripathy: Alumni mentor, ICT Mumbai SPP, IIT-Madras SPP
- Karan Kapadia, Alumni mentor, University of Delhi SPP, Ashoka SPP
- Svarnim Samant, Alumni mentor, Amity SPP, NIFTEM-K SPP
Meet the India SPP chapters
In India, as of 2026, there are eight active SPP chapters:
- The Ashoka University Smart Protein Project
- The University of Delhi Smart Protein Project
- The NIFTEM-K Smart Protein Project
- The Amity University Smart Protein Project
- The ICT Mumbai Smart Protein Project
- The IIT Madras Smart Protein Project
- Sathyabama Smart Protein Project
- Gujarat Biotechnology University Smart Protein Project
Following their launch, the Indian SPP chapters have worked closely with GFI and a global community of peers to build nuanced alternative protein courses/majors, research projects, and even startups at their universities.
Noteworthy initiatives
In October 2024, Ashoka University SPP, in collaboration with the Ashoka Political Sciences Society and the Office of Sustainability, organised a talk focusing on the BioE3 policy, with guest speaker Astha Gaur, Senior Policy Specialist – Regulatory, GFI India.
In February 2025, the ICT Mumbai SPP, in collaboration with FoodYaari, hosted a webinar with Debabrata Das, founder of ProMeat, to spotlight the smart protein landscape with a focus on plant-based meat.
In March and August 2025, the IIT-M SPP (affiliated with the IIT-M Plant-Based Society) hosted outreach events to educate students on the significance of smart proteins for a sustainable future. The team also provided goodies to the students who participated.
In March 2025, the NIFTEM-K SPP hosted The Alt Protein Market Breakthrough Challenge as part of their larger Ideathon event during their e-summit, attracting over 30 teams who pitched their innovative smart protein startup solutions to a panel of expert judges.
In April 2025, the University of Delhi (DU) SPP (affiliated with the e-cell at the university) organised their e-summit, where they spoke about smart proteins and introduced GFI India and the DU SPP’s mission to a large student audience.
In August 2025, the Amity SPP helped organise an in-person workshop focused on building research and talent in the smart protein sector, featuring GFI India’s SciTech team. In October 2025, they organised a documentary screening on plant-based meat innovation, followed by a briefing on smart proteins and Amity SPP’s work.
The ICT SPP team members also published two articles titled ‘Circular economy approaches for valorising guar-gum processing waste into protein-rich products’, and ‘Leveraging waste for the plant-based meat sector’ in the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists of India (AFSTI) Mumbai chapter’s newsletter in October 2025.
In November 2025, students from Delhi University and Ashoka University SPP attended the Singapore International Agri Food Week. Through the course of the week, they participated in the GFI Alt Protein Project (APP) Regional Student Symposium and immersed themselves in learning how academia, industry, and policy align to drive the alternative protein sector forward in APAC.
In March 2026, the Delhi University Smart Protein Project (DU SPP) hosted a panel discussion titled ‘Future of Smart Protein in India’ at E-Summit ’26. The session offered students direct engagement with industry experts on technological advancements, market trends, entrepreneurship, and career paths in alternative proteins, providing practical context to their academic studies.
In August 2026, students from Alt Protein Project chapters at IIT Madras, Amity, and ICT Mumbai organised the Future Food Dialogue, a virtual symposium with over 60 participants. The event featured introductory technical sessions on three alt-protein verticals and a panel discussion with Pranjuli Garg (Co-founder, ProMeat), Bharath Bakaraju (Founder, Phyx44), and Kamalnayan Tibrewal (Founder, Biokraft Foods), who shared sector skill requirements and mentored students.
Older initiatives
June 2023
The Delhi Smart Protein Project, with e-learning providers ClimateScience, hosted an in-person discussion titled ‘Climate Careers: From Tech to Table‘, emphasising the connection between food systems and sustainability. Along with Poorvasha Kar, GFI India’s former Innovation Associate, speakers from investment firms, smart protein startups, and climate tech companies were present at the event.
September 2023
The Chennai Smart Protein Project collaborated with iGEM, a university biotechnology research club, to host an information session on smart protein at IIT Madras. Chandana Tekkatte, GFI India’s Head of Science and Technology, delivered a talk on precision fermentation for smart proteins.
February 2024
The Mumbai Smart Protein Project, in collaboration with BioTecNika, a biotechnology news and career board, launched a webinar series titled ‘Smart Protein Disruption’, with eminent speakers covering the fundamentals of smart protein science and careers in smart protein. Amrutha Girivasan, GFI India’s Scientific Engagement Coordinator, spoke about the smart protein landscape during the first webinar of the series. Speakers for the other sessions included smart protein startup founders and fellow SPP members.