In the run-up to the International Year of Millets 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has organized a series of pre-launch events and initiatives on the MyGov platform to raise awareness and participation in the country around the ancient and forgotten golden grains. The MyGov platform has become a very important and successful medium for raising awareness through various competition organizations.
Participation on MyGov will play an important role in helping to make it a people's movement. A number of competitions have already been launched, some are still ongoing, and many more will be launched in the future on the MyGoV platform to capture the country's imagination and creative spirit. Details about the contests are available on the My Gov website https://www.mygov.in/.
On September 5, 2022, a contest for designing a comic story with the theme 'India's Wealth, Millets for Health' was launched, with the goal of raising public awareness about the health benefits of millets. The contest, which runs until November 5th, 2022, has received a positive response thus far.
On September 10, 2022, the Millet Startup Innovation Challenge was launched. This initiative encourages young minds to propose technological/commercial solutions to existing problems in the millet ecosystem. This Innovation Challenge will be open until January 31, 2023.
Mighty Millets Quiz
The Mighty Millets Quiz, which asked questions about millets and their benefits, was recently launched and received a large response. Millets and their benefits were the focus of the questions. The contest runs until October 20th, 2022, and has received 57,779 page views and 10,824 entries between August 20th and 30th, 2022.
A contest for an audio song and documentary film about the importance of millets will also be launched soon. The International Year of Millets 2023 logo and slogan competition has already concluded, and the winners will be announced shortly. The Indian government will soon release the logo and slogan to commemorate the historic occasion of the International Year of Millets 2023.
The International Year of Millets has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly for 2023. This was adopted by a United Nations Resolution, which India led and was supported by more than 70 countries. This will help to raise awareness about the importance of millets, their role in sustainable agriculture, and their benefits as a smart and superfood around the world.
With a production of more than 170 lakh tonnes and producing more than 80% of the millets produced in Asia, India is poised to become the global hub for millets. The earliest evidence for these grains was discovered in the Indus civilization, and they were among the first plants domesticated for food. It is grown in approximately 131 countries and is the traditional food for approximately 60 million people in Asia and Africa.
