To promote millets in restaurants and hotels, the Ministry of Tourism is taking several steps such as establishment of millet experience centres, create awareness on health benefits about dishes made out of millets amongst Indian and International chefs, meetings with hotel associations and hotel chains. Further, prominent Indian chefs are also encouraged to promote consumption of millets and sensitize on health benefits across all hotel chains and restaurants. The Government is celebrating International Year of Millets (IYM)-2023 at national, state and district level through organization of events, workshops, seminars, road shows, kisan melas etc., to create domestic & global demand, promote climate resilient crops, enhance production, consumption, export etc., due to their unique properties.

The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has taken a proactive multi-stakeholder engagement approach with central government ministries, states/union territories, farmers, start-ups, exporters, retail businesses, hotels, Indian Embassies etc., to achieve the objectives of IYM 2023 and to promote Indian millets globally. Twenty-Four Ministries/ Departments of the central government, all the State Governments and Indian Missions abroad are conducting two-week dedicated activities on millets for improving millets value chain and creating awareness on IYM.

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad is providing training to the farmers, women farmers, home makers, students and young entrepreneurs on manufacturing of value-added millet food products, daily recipes etc., and supporting them to establish self-enterprise. The institute has developed 67 value-added technologies including “Ready to Eat” and “Ready to Cook” for millet foods, branding of millet foods under “Eatrite” tag, organizing awareness programmes, agri-business incubator, technology business incubators etc.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

—-