India will become a game-changer by promoting millets: Union Minister

On their benefits, the Minister said millets not only ensured health but also saved water as they grew in dry areas as well.

There is a rising demand for healthy food in the post-pandemic world, and being the leading producer of millets, India has the responsibility to protect the world from lifestyle diseases, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel said here on Saturday.

He was speaking at ‘Global Food Basket-2023’, a two-day conclave on food processing technologies and trade, organised by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Chamber of Commerce (MSME CC) and World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME) in Vijayawada.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew that the future belongs to millets. At the International Food Festival in Dubai in 2017, Mr. Modi said millets would keep the world from going hungry. While people made light of the matter initially, his words gained significance later as 2018 was declared ‘National Year for Millets’. His idea also received support from 73 countries. Today, we are celebrating 2023 as the International Year of Millets,” he said.

On their benefits, the Minister said millets not only ensured health but also saved water as they grew in dry areas as well. They contained negligible sugar and fat and the seeds could be stored for up to 15 years.

Encouraging entrepreneurs to promote millets on a large scale, he said, “India is the largest producer of millets, but we are falling behind when it comes to marketing. Entrepreneurs should make use of Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), under which the government will provide a financial aid of ₹10 lakh to a unit along with 35% subsidy. The world once laughed at us for eating millets, calling them the ‘food of the poor’. The same world is now looking to us for millets,” he said.

“The government will provide monetary and technology help. We will ensure that there is a lab in every 300 km so that a product does not have to be sent to far-off places for quality tests,” he assured the entrepreneurs, while asking them to seize the opportunity.

He said the G20 summit, scheduled for September 2023, and the International Food Festival, scheduled for November 2023, would provide a platform for small-time businesses to showcase their talent.