Millets

Why in news?

• In a move aimed at providing a global platform for millet products, the APEDA launched a variety of millet products for all age groups at affordable prices ranging.
• APEDA also launched a variety of “Millet in Minutes” products under the category of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) such as Upma, Pongal, Khichadi, Noodles, Biryani, etc, which is a breakthrough in the food sector as it’s the first RTE millet product in the market to cater fast-paced world at their convenience in a healthy way.
• All the RTE products are vacuum processed without any additives, fillers and preservatives.
• Nutrition value is retained as original with a shelf-life of 12 months in ambient temperature.

About Millets:

• Millets are group of small grained cereal food crops. Most of millet crops are native of India
• Millets are often referred to as ‘Superfood’ and its production can be seen as an approach for sustainable agriculture and a healthy world.
• Climate Resilient:
  • Millets are harder and drought-resistant crops, which has to do with their short growing season (70-100 days, as against 120-150 days for paddy/wheat) and lower water requirement (350-500 mm versus 600-1,200 mm).
• Economic security:
  • They are grown with low chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides >> low investment is needed for production
• Nutri-cereals:
  • Millet is rich in niacin, which helps your body manage more than 400 enzyme reactions.
  • Millets are rich in micronutrients, including calcium, iron, phosphorus, etc.  For example, Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains.
  • Its high iron content can fight high prevalence of anaemia in Indian women of reproductive age and infants.
• Health benefits:
  • Millets are gluten-free.
  • Milleta are rich in dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble.
    • The insoluble fiber in millet is known as a “prebiotic,” which means it supports good bacteria in your digestive system.
    • This type of fiber is also important for adding bulk to stools, which helps keep you regular and reduces your risk of colon cancer.
    • The soluble fiber in millet can help reduce the amount of “bad” cholesterol in your blood
  • Millet is low in simple carbohydrates and higher in complex carbohydrates, making it a low-glycemic index (GI) food.
    • This means millet takes longer to digest than standard wheat flour.
    • Low-GI foods can help keep your blood sugar from spiking after eating, which allows people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels more easily.

Millets Production in India:

• The three major millet crops currently growing in India are jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet).
  • Along with that, India grows a rich array of bio-genetically diverse and indigenous varieties of “small millets” like kodo, kutki, chenna and sanwa.
• Major producers include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.

Add ons:

• In view of the nutritional value of the millets, the government has notified millets as nutri-cereals in 2018.
• In 2021, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has declared 2023 as International Year of Millets.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements:

1. Millets has longer growing season than paddy and wheat

2. Jowar and bajra are the only millets natively grown in India

3. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has declared 2023 as International Year of Millets

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer