International Year of millets 2023: The Government of India sponsored the proposal for International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been essential for the Indian government’s leadership in IYM celebrations. PM Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.
January 2023 Current Affairs Quiz
International Year of millets: More About This Development:
Recognising the enormous potential of Millets, which also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of India (GoI) has prioritized Millets. In order to increase marketing and demand generation, millets were rebranded as “Nutri Cereals” in April 2018, and 2018 was subsequently named the National Year of Millets. During the forecast period of 2021–2026, the worldwide millets market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.5%.
On 6th December 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, organized an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets – 2023 at Rome, Italy. The event was attended by a delegation of senior government officials from India. Next in the series, prior to the year-long celebration of ‘International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023’, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare hosted a special ‘Millet Luncheon’ for the Members of the Parliament at the Parliament house.
Further Development Regarding This:
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of India, will launch IYM-related events during the month of January 2023 among central ministries. The ministry has planned 15 activities over 15 days in January which include engaging sports persons, nutritionists and fitness experts through video messages, conducting webinars on millets with leading nutritionists, dieticians and elite athletes, promotion amplification through Fit India App, etc. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, FSSAI, and others are some of the other ministries with events scheduled for January. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries will host Millet Fair-cum-Exhibitions in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
With respect to states, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan have been allocated the month of January for carrying out specific activities for sensitization and promotion of IYM. The states will conduct millet-focused activities including mahotsavs, melas, and food festivals, farmer training, awareness campaigns, workshops, and seminars, the erection of hoardings at strategic areas around the state, the distribution of promotional materials, etc. Other states that are organizing similar activities in the month of January include Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Punjab.
What are millets:
Millet is a common term for categorising small-seeded grasses that are often called Nutri-cereals. Some of them are sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), little millet (kutki), foxtail millet (kakun), proso millet (cheena), barnyard millet (sawa), and kodo millet (kodon). Millets provide nourishment, resilience, revenue, and a means of subsistence for millions of smallholder dryland farmers throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. They also have a variety of uses, including those for food, feed, fodder, biofuels, and brewing.
Significance and benefits of millets:
Millets are nutritionally superior to wheat and rice owing to their higher protein levels and a more balanced amino acid profile. Millets also include a number of phytochemicals that have medicinal effects because of their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Further, besides being climate resilient, millet grains are rich sources of nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, dietary fibre, and good-quality fat; minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and B complex vitamins. Most importantly, millet production is not dependent on the use of chemical fertilizers.
Millet Producing States:
India produces all the nine commonly known millets and is the largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of millets in the world. One or more millet crop species are grown in the majority of Indian states. The principal states that produce millets include Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
