Modi’s Mission Millets: How PM is popularising ‘nutri-cereals’ in the US

Millets are the new yoga. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first state visit to the United States, has a big role to play in popularising the ancient Indian practice across the world. Wednesday’s Guinness World Record-setting session at the United Nations headquarters, which saw the participation of people from 135 nationalities, was proof.
Now the PM wants to make millets the next big export from India.

At the behest of the Indian government, the United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets. Modi is going above and beyond to promote “nutri-cereals”.

But what are millets? And why is the PM talking about them so often?

Millets matter

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Millets ate India’s indigenous foodgrains. The term is used to describe small-grained cereals like jowar (sorghum), ragi (finger millet), bajra (pearl millet), kodo (kodo millet), kutki (little millet), kakun (foxtail millet), sanwa (barnyard millet), cheena (proso millet), kuttu (buckwheat) and chaulai (amaranth), among others.

The consumption of millets dates back to 3,300 to 1300 BCE during the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation. Over centuries, the crops first cultivated in ancient India spread to other parts of the world and are now grown in China, Japan, and West Africa. They now have their own indigenous varieties.

According to a report in The Indian Express, millets are grown in 130 countries and are part of the traditional diet of more than half a billion people in Asia and Africa. Jowar and bajra are the most widely produced millet crops. The United States and India are among the major growers of jowar.

Millets are more nutritious than rice and wheat. They are higher protein levels and a more balanced amino acid profile. They are also rich in carbohydrates and minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, manganese, and zinc.

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Making millets popular

Modi has a knack to make things popular. Currently on his agenda are millets.

At the International Yoga Day celebration in New York, the PM spoke of millets and their many benefits. “Last year, the entire world came together to support India’s proposal to celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Millets are a superfood. They promote holistic health and are good for the environment too,” he told the crowd gathered at the North Lawn of the UN HQ in New York on Wednesday.

The Americans seem to be listening.

At the state dinner to be hosted by US president Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Thursday, millets will be served. The first lady worked with guest chef Nina Curtis and other White House chefs to prepare a special menu. Crisped millet cakes, marinated millet and grilled corn kernel salad will be served along with summer squashes, compressed watermelon, tangy avocado sauce, stuffed portobello mushrooms, creamy saffron-infused risotto, rose and cardamom-infused strawberry shortcake.

“We are very excited that India is leading efforts to celebrate the International Year of Millet. We have incorporated marinated millets into our menu,” Nina Curtis.

Millets are also making their way to restaurant menus in the US. An Indian restaurant, Saar, in New York’s Time Square has added millet-based dishes to its menu.

Hemant Mathur, the owner of the eatery, told news agency ANI that the response has been encouraging and even Americans are taking to it. Cutlets, dosa and uttapam made of millets are the favourites among patrons.

“We are very excited about PM Modi’s visit. It will definitely boost India-US ties. But, food will also play a huge role here,” Mathur, who runs three hotels and a catering unit, said. “Especially PM Modi is promoting millets. Similarly, we have also promoted it in collaboration with the Indian consulate.”

The Indian-American emphasised the benefits of nutri- cereals, which are sugar-controlled, high in protein, and help in losing weight too.

That’s not all. Songs are being written on millets. PM Modi collaborated with Grammy award-winning Indian-American singer Falu (Falguni Shah) and her husband Gaurav Shah to create a special song “Abundance in Millets” to promote the benefits and the potential of the superfood to alleviate world hunger.

“Prime Minister Modi has written a song with me and my husband Gaurav Shah,” Falu told the news agency PTI, as they released the song ahead of the Indian leader’s visit.

The premier also met his couple in New York on Tuesday, hours after he landed in the country for the historic visit. “It was so nice to see him [PM Modi]. We have worked together for six months. He loved the album cover and the song,” Fale said.

Modi told the musician that he hoped people benefit from the song and the cause [of promoting millets] is taken care of.

Mission Millets

India has been doing all it can to promote millets after the UN General Assembly adopted India’s resolution to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets two years ago. The country is the president of the G20 this year and is working toward promoting nutri-cereals. Delegates at several G20 meetings being held across India are given a “millet experience” through tasting, meeting farmers, and interactive sessions, according to a report in The Indian Express.

The PM himself has been preaching the benefits of millets during his various interactions. In March, speaking at the “Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference”, which was attended by delegates from countries such as Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, and the Gambia, he said that millets can help solve food crisis.

He spoke of the climate resilience of millets, saying they can grow in adverse conditions with very little water and without chemicals. “This means millets protect the health of humans and the land,” he said.

According to the PM, the resilience of millets can help countries in the Global South address issues of food security while addressing the problem of food habit-related diseases on the rise in the Global North.

In India, efforts are being made to chalk up guidelines and introduce millets in the food menu of schools, hospitals and government canteens.

India’s Mission Millet is gathering steam and PM Modi is its biggest ambassador.

With inputs from agencies

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