Pre-launch of India's year-long grand celebration of International Year of Millets 2023 to be held in Delhi today

New Delhi: A pre-launch of India's year-long grand celebration of ‘International Year of Millets 2023 will be held in New Delhi today. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will be attending the event. During the event, the two Ministers will share the vision of the government for successful celebration of International Year of Millets 2023. 

High Commissioners and Ambassadors to India from more than 60 countries are expected to attend the pre-launch celebration. The key objective is to spread awareness about Indian millets and engage with other nations for a successful global celebration of International Year of Millets 2023.

Recently at G-20 summit in Bali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the benefits of millets saying that millets can solve the global malnutrition and hunger problem. He has also highlighted that India is promoting natural farming and re-popularising nutritious and traditional food grains like millet for sustainable food security. He had urged all to



celebrate the International Year of Millets with great enthusiasm next year. 

The year 2023 will be celebrated as International Year of Millets. The primary aim of this initiative is to increase the awareness of millet’s health benefits among the public.

According to the United Nations estimates, the global population is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050. In such a situation, there is a need for more production of food grains, especially millet, to meet the food needs of the rapidly growing global population. Estimates show that more than 90 million people in Africa and Asia depend on millet for their diets. 

Millets are being increasingly recognized as climate-smart crops with enormous nutritional and health benefits. Millets are a rich source of protein, fiber, minerals, iron, and calcium. India is a major producer of Millet, accounting for 80 percent of Asia’s production and 20 percent of global production.