Union Budget 2023: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech of the annual budget 2023-24 mentioned several schemes especially for agriculture and farmers. In which one scheme was ‘Shri Anna’ scheme. Everyone’s attention was especially drawn to this scheme. In order to promote the production of coarse grains in the country, it was said to start Shri Anna Yojana. He used the word Shri Anna for Millets i.e. coarse grains. That is, under this scheme, efforts will be made by the government to increase the production of coarse grains. For this, Indian Millets Institute will also be formed. Under Shri Anna Yojana, farmers will be encouraged to produce coarse grains.
What is ‘Shri Anna’?
Here coarse grains i.e. Millets are being called Shri Anna. Such grains are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients. The Finance Minister said that India is the second largest exporter of millets in the world. Many cereals like Jowar, Ragi, Bajra, Kuttu, Ramdana, Kangni, Kutki, Kodo, Chhina and Sama are produced in India. All these coarse grains are very beneficial for health. The government is preparing to make India a global hub of Shree Anna. The Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad has been imparting research technology related to millets and its better production methods at the international level. Therefore, this institute has made a huge contribution in this field.
Why is Shree Anna special?
Millets crop is very important for food security as well as for international relations. Recently, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also mentioned the importance of millets amid the Corona epidemic, climate change and other challenges. Asia and Africa are one of the major producer and user countries of Millets. Apart from India, Niger, Sudan and Nigeria are also major producers of millets.
What is the specialty of Millet Crops?
Millets or Shree Anna crops require less water. For example, where a sugarcane plant needs 2100 mm of water. At the same time, a millet plant needs only 350 mm of water in its entire lifetime. Whereas, other crops get ruined due to lack of water, on the other hand, if the crop of coarse grains gets spoiled, then it can be used as fodder for animals.
41 percent production of Bajra in India
India has an estimated share of about 41 percent in the global production of millet. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), India alone accounted for 12.49 million metric tonnes of the global production of 30.464 million metric tonnes of millet in the year 2020. Last year too, India recorded a 27 percent increase in millet production. India Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are major millet producing states. According to estimates, by the year 2025, the market value of millet production will increase from $ 9 billion to $ 12 billion.
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