Senior IFS Officer Dr. Rajesh Gawande leads Maharashtra’s investment facilitation innings at the premier nutraceutical C-suite leadership summit
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 12: Maharashtra’s global investment outreach reached a new register this week as Suite Sumflex 2026 — billed as the Davos of Nutraceuticals and hosted in Mumbai — transformed into a live investment facilitation forum for the state government. A series of high-level bilateral engagements over two days drew global leaders in clean technology, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce logistics, and functional nutrition into direct dialogue with Maharashtra’s investment facilitation machinery.
The summit, organised by Nutrify Today under the banner of the Global Nutraceutical Leadership Collective, brought together over 150 C-suite executives and senior government officials from more than 25 countries — including the USA, UAE, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. At the centre of Maharashtra’s engagement was Dr. Rajesh Gawande, IFS, Secretary (FDI & Diaspora) and Chief of Protocol, Government of Maharashtra — one of India’s first Indian Foreign Service officers specifically deputed to a state government for foreign direct investment facilitation, a precedent-setting appointment made under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Over the two-day event, Dr. Gawande conducted a string of structured investment dialogues spanning algae-based carbon capture technology, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical trade cooperation with Central Asia, and large-scale e-commerce logistics infrastructure. Each engagement reflected Chief Minister Fadnavis’s governing conviction that Maharashtra must pursue investment with the proactivity of economic diplomacy, not the passivity of a waiting room.
Maharashtra and Uzbekistan Explore Pharma and Nutraceutical Cooperation
In a significant bilateral engagement that extended Maharashtra’s health sector outreach to Central Asia, Dr. Gawande met Mr. Abdulla Azizov, Chairman and First Deputy Minister of Health, Uzbekistan (Pharmaceutical Agency), for a substantive discussion on potential cooperation across technology transfer, regulatory alignment, joint manufacturing, market access, and institutional partnerships in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.
Uzbekistan is rapidly emerging as a strategic pharmaceutical market in Central Asia, underpinned by President Mirziyoyev’s economic modernisation programme. With a young population, a strengthening regulatory environment, and geographic access to broader Central Asian markets, the bilateral dialogue carries significant potential for Maharashtra’s pharmaceutical and nutraceutical exporters seeking regional expansion. Both sides exchanged mementos as a symbol of goodwill and mutual intent, and agreed to continue discussions through appropriate institutional channels.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Santosh Bhosale, Joint Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, Mr. Amit Srivastava, Chief Catalyst, Nutrify Today, and Dr. Umesh Kamble, representing both F2F Corporate Consultants and the Chamber for Advancement of Small and Medium Businesses (CASMB).
Algae-Based Carbon Capture and Logistics Engagements
On the sustainability front, Dr. Gawande held discussions with Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, Director and CFO of Algae Products International Ltd (UK/Qatar), whose proprietary photobioreactor technology captures industrial CO₂ emissions and converts algal biomass into commercial products — with applications in nutraceuticals, animal feed, biofuels, and biochemicals. Maharashtra’s industrial density and port infrastructure emerged as key attractions for potential deployment, though both sides described the engagement as exploratory with no commitments announced.
Separately, Dr. Gawande met Dr. Somdutta Singh, Founder and Group CEO of Assiduus Global — one of India’s most recognised cross-border e-commerce and supply-chain accelerator platforms — to explore Maharashtra as a strategic hub for large-scale warehousing, e-commerce fulfilment centres, and export-oriented logistics operations. Maharashtra’s combination of JNPA port access, Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway connectivity, and industrial zones across Navi Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik was presented as an unmatched infrastructure proposition. A future MoU was discussed, subject to due diligence and procedural requirements.
About Nutrify Today and Suite Sumflex 2026
Nutrify Today is India’s foremost nutraceutical industry intelligence and leadership platform, dedicated to accelerating the growth of India’s functional food, nutraceutical, and preventive health sectors through knowledge, networking, and investment facilitation. Founded and led by Mr. Amit Srivastava, Nutrify Today has established itself as the definitive convening authority for India’s nutraceutical C-suite, connecting industry leaders, global investors, and policy makers across one of the world’s most dynamic health economy markets.
Suite Sumflex 2026 is Nutrify Today’s flagship annual summit — an invite-only, CXO-level Global Nutraceutical Leadership Collective designed to facilitate real investment decisions, strategic partnerships, and market-shaping conversations. This year’s edition drew 360-plus senior industry leaders, global investors, and policy heads from over 25 countries and was widely described in industry circles as the premier nutraceutical leadership summit in Asia. Its positioning as the Davos of Nutraceuticals reflects both the quality of its participants and the weight of its outcomes.
About CASMB
The Chamber for Advancement of Small and Medium Businesses (CASMB) is a national industry body dedicated to strengthening the policy, financial, and market access ecosystem for India’s small and medium enterprise sector. Under the leadership of its Secretary General Dr. Umesh Kamble, CASMB has been a consistent and active voice in advocating for SME participation in emerging high-growth sectors including nutraceuticals, functional foods, and preventive healthcare. CASMB works in close partnership with central and state government bodies, industry associations, and international trade platforms to ensure that the growth of India’s new economy sectors creates inclusive and sustainable opportunities for smaller enterprises — not merely large industry players. Dr. Kamble’s participation in the Maharashtra-Uzbekistan bilateral meeting at Suite Sumflex 2026 reflects CASMB’s strategic engagement with global trade and investment dialogues that have direct bearing on India’s SME ecosystem.
Quotes
“Maharashtra is committed to attracting investments that are not only economically significant but also aligned with our sustainability goals. Technologies that address industrial carbon emissions while creating new economic value through circular models are precisely the kind of solutions we are keen to evaluate. Suite Sumflex 2026 has been an exceptional platform for connecting Maharashtra’s investment facilitation machinery with the world’s most innovative companies and policy minds.”
— Dr. Rajesh Gawande, IFS, Secretary (FDI & Diaspora) and Chief of Protocol, Government of Maharashtra
“Suite Sumflex 2026 has demonstrated that nutraceuticals and functional health are no longer a niche industry — they are a strategic economic priority. The quality of government engagement we witnessed here, particularly from Maharashtra, signals that the state is serious about building a world-class ecosystem for this sector. CASMB has been working closely with industry and government to ensure that small and medium businesses are not left behind in this growth story, and the partnerships forged this week are a significant step in that direction.”
— Dr. Umesh Kamble, Secretary General, CASMB and Founder, F2F Corporate Consultants
“When we conceived Suite Sumflex as a platform, our ambition was exactly this — to build a forum where investment decisions are made, not merely discussed. The engagement from the Government of Maharashtra this year proves that state governments are now thinking like global investors. India’s nutraceutical and functional food industry is at an inflection point, and Maharashtra is positioning itself to be its epicentre.”
— Mr. Amit Srivastava, Chief Catalyst, Nutrify Today — Organiser, Suite Sumflex 2026