New book narrating India’s millet tale hits market

The book makes a clear case for consuming millets to overcome anaemia and promote healthy growth in children

‘The Millet Movement in India’, the first coffee table book about the increasingly popular grain published by Penguin Random House India, has hit the stores.

“I am confident the coffee table book will provide valuable insights into our cultural culinary landscape and help increase awareness about our ancient wisdom of food processing,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said about the book.

The book makes a clear case for consuming millets to overcome anaemia and promote healthy growth in children by presenting scientific evidence, from various studies, including from the first school feeding study with millets, undertaken by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Akshaya Patra.

Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, Government of India, noted in the book, “Millets are indeed superior cereals in terms of nutrition and resilience and also in terms of sustainability. They are ideally suited to address child undernutrition and fit very well in nature-friendly production. Use of millets in various nutrition intervention programs and in Public Distribution System will be of great help to address malnutrition and improve health of low income households.”

ICRISAT, ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) are some of the key organizations leading this cause with scientific backing. The recent scientific case for consuming millets has been made through a series of studies led by ICRISAT along with NIN and others which have established that regular consumption can help lower the risk of diabetes and obesity, while improving cholesterol levels and contributing to lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. The research effort had also demonstrated the effectiveness of millets in combating iron-deficiency anaemia and deficiencies of calcium.