Page 38 - Mann Ki Baat - English, August 2022
P. 38
Millets: India’s Humble Superfood
Maintaining Country’s Healthy Eating Habits
Kautilya’s Arthashastra,
Nowadays, the young
generation is much focused on Yajurveda, Vishnu Purana,
healthy living and eating. Millets Tolkāppiyam, Sangam Literature,
contain plenty of protein, fiber, and the 15 century Kannada
th
and minerals. Many people
poem Ragi Thandeera – do
even call it a superfood. It feels you know what is common
good to see that many such
start-ups are emerging today, between these diverse Indian
which are working on millets. I compositions from distinct eras?
wish all the very best to all the Millets! All these texts have the
people working in this field. mention of these grains in some
-Prime Minister Narendra Modi form or the other. And these
(in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ address) are not the only evidence of the
presence of millets in the Indian
subcontinent. In the excavations
of Oriyo Timbo in the Bhavnager
district of Gujarat, dating to
2000-1500 BC, 77% of seeds were
found to be of millets.
These centuries-old grains
lost their prominence when the
Green Revolution introduced
high-yielding varieties of paddy
"It delights me that the
and wheat which entered the
United Nations has declared
Public Distribution System (PDS)
2023 as the International
and became more accessible.
Year of Millets and that
more than 70 countries have As a result, millets were no longer
supported our Hon’ble Prime perceived as a staple food grain
Minister’s endeavour. Since in India. However, the tide is
our country is the largest turning in the favour of millets.
millet producer in the world, Considered the “poor man’s food”
it is our responsibility to put for long, millets are now finding
in our efforts to make our
their way to the supermarket
millets a global product."
shelves and kitchens across the
-Jaiveer Rao
world.
CEO, The Pickle Story
With changing lifestyles
34
34
