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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

29/04/23 06:20 AM IST

Millets Experience Centre (MEC)

In News
  • Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare along with NAFED, commemorated the launch of the first of its kind ‘Millets Experience Centre (MEC)’ at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.
About MEC
  • NAFED in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) established the Millets Experience Centre with an aim to raise awareness on Millets and encourage its adoption among general public.
  • The United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023).
  • The ministry-led initiative of establishing a consumer-oriented ‘Millets Experience Centre’ would not only promote the dietary benefits of the ancient grain, but also popularize millets or Shree Anna as a nutritional powerhouse fit for cooking a variety of dishes like Millets dosa, Millets pasta etc.
  • In addition to a unique dining experience, customers can also purchase a variety of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products from local millet start-ups at the MEC.
  • The Dilli Haat is a national & cultural hub for visitors from all around the world, the MEC will further help the global outreach of the local millets and provide visitors a chance to witness India’s ‘Millet Movement’.
Millets
  • Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small-seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops, primarily on marginal lands in dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions.
  • Some of the common millets available in India are Ragi (Finger millet), Jowar (Sorghum), Sama (Little millet), Bajra (Pearl millet), and Variga (Proso millet).
  • The earliest evidence for these grains has been found in Indus civilization and were one of the first plants domesticated for food.
  • It is grown in about 131 countries and is the traditional food for around 60 crore people in Asia & Africa.
  • India is the largest producer of millet in the world.
Source- PIB

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