The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) is starting an exercise to prepare a framework for determining logistics cost in the country, an official said on Thursday.

 

For this, the department will be holding a workshop on the subject, where experts, academicians, professors, and statisticians across the globe will participate on March 20 here besides government officials.

 

'We hope to firm up an index to gauge the country's logistics cost in a year. It will be an annual affair after that.We are organising an international workshop on logistics cost framework,' the official said.

 

Many international players from countries like Japan, Korea and Germany will attend.

 

'We will deliberate on various modules and choose the framework that best suits us,' the official added.

 

At present, the government is going by certain estimates which suggest that logistics cost in India stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP.

 

The government has rolled out a national logistics policy and PM Gati Shakti initiative to boost competitiveness of industry and cut the logistics cost.

Prices of rice shipped from top hub India eased this week on a slowdown in demand from buyers in Africa, while Bangladesh looked to clamp down on hoarding to tame soaring local rates for the staple.

 

Rates for India's 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> fell to $390-$395 per tonne from $397-$404, which was the highest in about two years, were also hurt by a depreciation in the rupee.

 

Buying from African countries has slowed a bit due to the recent rally in prices, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

 

India does not plan to lift a ban on broken rice exports and cut a 20% tax on overseas shipments of white rice as the top exporter tries to keep a lid on domestic prices, two government sources said last month.

 

In Bangladesh, domestic prices stayed elevated despite good crops and reserves, which officials blamed on hoarding by middlemen.

 

The government has warned of legal action against those involved.

 

'Surveillance has been increased. New laws are being enacted,' Bangladesh Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said.

 

Thailand's 5% broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> were quoted at $450 $460 per tonne, a slight dip from the $460 range last week.

 

'Supply and demand have been muted because it's early in the month, (so) we have to wait for the new harvest,' said a Bangkok-based trader.

 

In Vietnam, 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> was offered at $440-$445 per tonne, down from $457 per tonne a week ago.

 

'Prices edged lower as supplies are building up amid the winter-spring harvest,' a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

 

While prices may ease further as the harvest peaks this month, strong global demand will prevent a more pronounced retreat, traders said.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and National Logistics Policy (NLP) together will greatly help both businesses and people, improve competitiveness, improve investment into India and give the world confidence that India is on the rise. 

 

He was addressing the gathering at the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) National Conference on GatiShakti in New Delhi today. Shri Goyal expressed his appreciation for the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which is based in Eastern India for coming to Delhi to engage with an initiative as crucial as GatiShakti. 

 

Shri Goyal said that the world today recognized India as a leader of innovation. He observed that India has been rapidly developing new tools for good governance, ease of living, and ease of doing business, such as PM GatiShakti National Master Plan. He observed that gone were the days when India had to wait for decades for new ideas and technology to emerge in the west and adopt them to help our businesses and our people. He cited the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework as an example of India's technological prowess, and an initiative which has had a deep impact on the country's economy. He further informed that in December last year, India had clocked 7.28 billion digital financial transactions in one month, thanks to UPI. The Minister added that the world was now aspiring to adopt UPI for digital financial transactions. 

 

The Minister emphasized that India was second to none in technology and new ideas, and that the PM GatiShakti initiative was yet another example of this capability. He recalled how the Prime Minister, about 15 years ago, conceived the idea of using geospatial technology to plan infrastructure better and set up BIZAG-N in Ahmedabad. He pointed out that the PM actively engaged with BIZAG during its formative years and planned infrastructure in Gujarat using the data points generated by the institute. As a result, Gujarat is far ahead of many other areas in terms of quality and speed of infrastructure development, he observed.

 

The Minister went on to demystify PM GatiShakti, explaining that it created layers of data where different geological, ecological and infrastructural elements across the country were mapped and captured. Currently, there are about 1300 layers of data, consisting of forests, wildlife sanctuaries, rivers, UNESCO world heritage sites, among others, he said and added that GatiShakti would not only address critical gaps in infrastructure but also help in planning social infrastructure such as schools, nursing homes, hospitals, etc. 

 

The Minister further explained that the data layers of GatiShakti engage with each other through APIs, and if an alignment of a particular project was put into GatiShakti, it would highlight the challenges of implementation and help re-align the project, saving time and cost. He also highlighted that 12 states have digitized their land, which further strengthened the planning.

 

The Minister stated that no state has politicized GatiShakti, as it is an initiative that would help our businesses, our people and the economy as a whole. He added that reducing the cost of logistics is critical to achieving India's goal of becoming a developed country by 2047. He stated that PM GatiShakti, if used well, will help bring down logistics costs tremendously. He highlighted that all highways, railways, ports, and airports were mapped on GatiShakti, which would help in building seamless connectivity networks and creating a positive impact on the logistics ecosystem.

 

The Minister lauded the Prime Minister’s efforts in galvanizing small and developing nations to demand a fair agreement in the interest of equity and balance between the developed and developing world, which was finally adopted in COP 21 in Paris. The Minister observed that every world leader today was looking up to India, and that there was no part of the globe that did not look up to PM Modi to find solutions to challenging global problems.

 

The Minister also highlighted the success of the government in meeting the basic needs of life for its citizens, including food, clothing, shelter, health and education. He mentioned that India’s healthcare program, Ayushman Bharat covered over 500 million people and said that the New Education Policy has been accepted and lauded across sections. These initiatives, Shri Goyal said, had made India's population, especially the youth, highly aspirational.

 

The Minister stressed that GatiShakti is a national approach that has come out of exhaustive consultations and collective, collaborative efforts of countless stakeholders. He concluded by expressing confidence that with the enthusiasm that he saw among the people of the country and the turbo-powered work that is happening in several fields, India may surpass the mark of becoming a USD 32 trillion economy by 2047.

The three-day Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela, organized by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), was inaugurated today by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi today. Along with thousands of farmers, scientists and startup entrepreneurs are participating in the fair. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that Shree Anna is being widely promoted throughout the world through the International Year of Millets, with which Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi aims to empower the Small Farmers, who constitute 86 percent of farmers in the country. Even while he is occupied all the time as the Prime Minister, Shri Modi is concerned about the welfare of these small farmers living in the villages. Millets are grown by these very small farmers. In order to make them prosperous, the Prime Minister has bestowed Millets with their pride of place by naming them as 'Shree Anna' and has also planned several programs.

 

Chief Guest Union Minister Shri Tomar said that the International Year of Millets is the result of Prime Minister Shri Modi's efforts in the all-round interest of small farmers, he himself had sent a proposal to the United Nations on behalf of the Government of India to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Prime Minister Shri Modi will formally launch the International Year of Millets at a grand function to be held in Delhi on March 18, 2023, in which scientists, other representatives and ministers from many countries will participate. Praising the theme of the Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela, - ‘Shree Anna’, Shri Tomar said that farmers will get a lot of benefits through this fair as well. Shri Tomar said that this time the G-20 is chaired by India under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi and he has kept its theme – 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. With the vision of the Prime Minister, India is moving towards providing leadership to the world. He said that India is agriculture-oriented, the more the farmer will progress, the country will progress as much as it will be prosperous. If India is to develop then we have to empower the farmers.

 

Shri Tomar said that due to the hard work of farmers, efficiency of scientists and farmer-friendly policies of the government, our agriculture is at the top in the world. There is abundant production in food grains and horticulture and allied sectors in the country and India is emerging in the leading position in every field. He expressed the hope that everyone will work together in the future to make our country's agriculture more advanced. It is everyone's collective responsibility to face and solve the challenges facing the Agriculture sector. Appreciating the contribution of scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), its Institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for the progress of the Agriculture sector, he said that farmers adopted their research in farming, due to which the quality of agricultural products improved and the country's economy is also getting its benefit. India's credibility is increasing on the political stage of the world, giving rise to expectations from us, in such a situation the responsibility of all of us increases further. Today the scenario of India has changed, now India is not an importing nation, rather the world expects cooperation from us.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar said that for the upgradation of agriculture and the welfare of farmers, the Modi Government has launched many important schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore. He also stressed on facing together and resolving the challenges of climate change.

 

Shri Tomar gave away awards to Progressive dedicated farmers and released publications. Thematic exhibitions of major technologies have been set up in the fair, while stalls of research institutes, startups and entrepreneurs have also been set up, which Shri Tomar visited, along with the fields of Pusa Institute. Live demonstrations of important varieties of wheat, mustard, gram, vegetables, flowers, fruits have been done in the fair. There are also stalls of farmers, entrepreneurs, input agencies, while farmer counseling stalls are helping farmers solve their problems. Director General of ICAR and Secretary of DARE, Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director of IARI, Dr. A.K. Singh, Dr. Ravindra Padaria along with other officers, scientists and a large number of farmers were present.

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Mr. Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan province of Canada, met in New Delhi today. Mr. Scott Moe was accompanied by the Canadian delegation. Welcoming the delegation, the Agriculture Minister noted the age-old and friendly relations between India and Canada, which reflect the shared values of democracy, growing economic engagement, regular high-level discussions and long-standing people-to-people ties.

 

Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar referred to the MoU signed between the two countries on Agriculture and Allied Sectors in 2009 and expressed satisfaction over its implementation through the meetings of the Joint Working Group. He informed the delegation that in view of the International Year of Millets - 2023, India is organizing an International Millets Conference in New Delhi on 18 March 2023, which will be graced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He also extended an invitation to Mr. Scott Moe to attend the conference.

 

The two leaders also talked about India's current chairmanship of the G-20. The Agriculture Minister explained India's preparations and programs for the G-20 meetings and urged Canada's active cooperation and support for these global events.

 

Mr. Scott Moe thanked the Agriculture Minister for the meeting and pointed out the commonalities between India and Saskatchewan in their agricultural challenges. He spoke about the initiatives and developments made in Saskatchewan, Canada in agriculture, food security, industries, technologies etc. He mentioned that a delegation from his Agriculture Minister had recently visited India and a technical delegation from Saskatchewan is also visiting India next week.

 

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to work together in all areas, including Agriculture, to ensure Food Security for each other and the world.

India’s fresh grape exports for the financial year 2022-23 are seen higher both in volumes and value on good demand from Europe, the largest buyer and ample supplies.

 

This is despite a delayed start to the export season and adverse factors such as a hike in import duty by one of the large buyers Bangladesh and slower shipments to Russia due to the war situation, exporters said.

 

'The demand is good from Europe. We are expecting this year’s exports to touch the peak levels of 2019,' said Vilas Shinde, Chairman and Managing Director, Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company Ltd (Sahyadri Farms), a large exporter of fresh grapes.

 

All-time high

India’s grape exports had touched an all-time high of $335 million in 2018-19 but had declined in subsequent years to factors such as Covid-related lockdown and soaring freight rates triggered by global logistics challenges and a decline in output due to the inclement weather conditions.

 

Though the export season was delayed by a fortnight this year and started in January’s third week due to the impact of unfavourable weather, the shipments have picked up and gained pace.

 

'The climate is clear now and is seen helping the production and productivity, unlike in the past three years when output suffered due to the bad weather. The only issue is shipments are not happening to Russia due to the war situation. Also, Bangladesh has increased the import duty to Rs.53 a kg from Rs.32, which is a bit of concern and may result in a decline in shipments of around 10-15 per cent to that country,' Shinde said.

 

Of the close to 2.4 lakh tonnes of fresh grapes exported from India, Europe accounts for over 1 lakh tonnes, followed by Bangladesh at around 60,000 tonnes. Other geographies including West Asia and Russia account for the rest.

 

As per the latest data from APEDA, India has shipped out grapes worth $69.65 million in the April-November period of the current financial year, an increase of 23 per cent over the same period last year. Being a short seasonal fruit, the bulk of the fresh grape shipments take place during the January-March period.

 

Positive growth expectations

Currently, India is the 11th largest exporter of grapes in the world and shipments have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.6 per cent in the last decade.

 

'This year will be good and positive for the grapes exports. We will do very well,' said M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA. 'Because of our strong traceability system, upgraded with blockchain technology, we have managed to tap the high-value European market, which has given a boost to grape exports. APEDA is making efforts to penetrate new markets and intends to improve product diversification and value addition too,' Angamuthu added.

 

'Grapes exports are relatively okay compared to the last year. So far, the season has been good and we are expecting to ship out over 100 plus containers, around 1,500 tonnes,' said Pankaj Khandelwal, Chairman and Managing Director, INI Farms, which was acquired by agri-tech firm AgroStar. INI Farms exports around 100 containers of grapes annually, mainly to Europe.

 

Sahyadri’s Shinde said considering good demand and production this year, his organisation is expecting to clock a growth of 10-15 per cent in fresh grape shipments this year. Last year, Sahyadri shipped out around 1,100 containers, each carrying about 14 tonnes.

 

What the stats say

India’s grape exports during 2021-22 stood at $305.7 million, a 2.6 per cent decline over the previous year’s $314 million.

The top ten export destinations of grapes during 2021-22 were the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Russia, the UK, UAE, Germany, Nepal, Saudi Arab, Malaysia, and Thailand.

As per the third advance estimate for 2021-22, grape production is seen higher at 3.47 million tonnes over 2020-21’s final estimates of 3.358 million tonnes.

Aahar, the international food & hospitality fair, is the most awaited event of the year 2023. It is a flagship B2B event that brings together all sectors in the food and hospitality segment under one roof.

 

The 37th edition of Aahar will be organised from March 14 to 18, 2023, at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

 

Aahar is one of Asia's best known brands in food & hospitality shows. It has grown by leaps & bounds in recent years and has become a well known destination for global vendors and sourcing professionals.

 

The event is organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the premier trade promotion body of Government of India.

 

Exhibition Verticals

Food Products & Beverages; Food & Beverage Equipment; (Preparation/Processing/ Packaging); Hospitality & Décor Solutions; Confectionery and Bakery; Spices and Agri-Produce.

 

New Attractions

Nutraceuticals, aquaculture & marine products, floriculture, dairy products, fresh fruits & vegetables, plant proteins and plant-based meat.

 

 

Exhibitors

The event is a great opportunity to exhibit products, technology, services to national & international buyers, generate sales leads, order bookings, network with the industry, establish business contacts, launch new products, appoint agents & distributors, promote company products, brand building, market research, and gauge market trends.

 

Aahar is an order-writing show where the hotel industry, restaurants, catering industry, institutions, importers, buyers, and distributors meet with vendors, to source best of the products in the food, hospitality and equipment sectors. Senior management, professionals like CEOs, managing directors, vice presidents, directors, general managers form a substantial part of the visitors.

 

Visitors

The event will give visitors the opportunity to meet overseas buyers, trade delegations, importers & distributors, executive chefs & executive housekeepers, hospitality procurement heads, start-ups & entrepreneurs, purchase professionals & consultants, overseas & Indian industry associations, organised retailers, mega chains hospitality service providers, policy makers & media, diplomatic & commercial representatives of foreign missions in India.

 

Hall Verticals

• H2GF Dairy Products & Technology, Confectionery & Bakery Products, Chocolate Products, ICMA

• H3GF APEDA

• H4GF Foreign Participation and FIFI Pavilion

• H5GF Processed Food, Frozen Foods, Marine Products, Organic Products, Tea, Coffee, Beverages, Meat Products, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Aquaculture

• H2FF Dairy Products & Technology, Confectionery & Bakery Products, Chocolate Products

• H3FF Spices, Condiments, Ingredients, Agri Produce, Farm Produce, Floriculture

• H4FF Foreign Participation, Processed Food, Frozen Foods, Marine Products, Organic Products, Tea, Coffee, Beverages, Meat Products, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Aquaculture, Supply Chain Solutions, Food Grade, Packaging Material

• H5FF Processed Food, Frozen Foods, Marine Products, Organic Products, Tea, Coffee, Beverages, Meat Products, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Aquaculture, Supply Chain Solutions, Food Grade Packaging Material, Culinary Art India Show by Indian Culinary Forum

• H7(ABC) Hospitality & Decor, Furnishing, Housekeeping Products, Gift Items

• H7 (DEFGH) Bakery, Heavy Machinery Equipment, Refrigeration, Tentage & Decor, Logistics/Packaging, Software Solutions & Catering / F&B Equipment

• H 8-11 Kitchen & Hotel Equipment

• H12&12A Kitchen & Hotel Equipment, Start-Ups

• H14  Kitchen & Hotel Equipment

• Open Area  Mist Coolers, Hospitality & Decor, Furnishing, Housekeeping Products, Gift Items

 

India is the fastest growing economy in the world. The growing domestic / foreign business tourists have resulted in huge demand for star hotel properties which need high grade services and facilities for the guests. Aahar is the largest and most well known event for sourcing F&B equipment and hospitality supplies and services in the sub-continent.

Buoyed by several events taking place in the country to promote millets, the Food Ministry has asked States to procure more such nutri cereals, for which it has set a target of 7.5 lakh tonnes (lt) during 2022-23 (October-September), of which Karnataka alone will buy 6 lt (5 lt of ragi and 1 lt jowar).

 

The procurement of nutri and coarse cereals was 6.30 lt during 2021-22. The procurement in the current year since October 1, 2022 has reached 2.63 lt — including 1.36 lt of ragi and 1.25 lt of bajra, as on March 1.

 

'All the States were asked to open procurement centres for coarse grains in producing districts, especially, in tribal areas at the conference of Food Secretaries on Wednesday. State governments have also been asked to encourage consumption of millets,' a Food Ministry official said.

 

Revised norms

Addressing the conference, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said that the guidelines for millet procurement and distribution have been revised. Accordingly, if there are surplus millets, States have been allowed to distribute them to other states, he said. 'We have given permission to Karnataka government to distribute surplus millets to Kerala. We hope in the coming years, we will be able to procure and distribute in a big way,' Chopra said.

 

All States have been urged to learn from the best practice of using millets in schemes like ICDS, mid-day meal and PDS in Karnataka which is helpful in adding nutrition and promoting healthy diet.

 

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday urged small and marginal farmers to grow more millets, which can help address malnutrition in the country. Stressing that millets need less water but has high nutrition, he said these miracle cereals were kept out thinking it was poor man’s food.

 

'We are eating well but not nutrition-rich food... There is a problem of malnutrition not only in India but in many parts of the world. We can address the malnutrition problem by growing more millets,' Tomar said inaugurating the annual ‘Krishi Vigyan Mela’ in Delhi’s Pusa campus.

The Centre has fixed a target of 10.6 million tonnes (mt) of rice to be purchased during the rabi season starting April 1, taking the total target to 62.1 mt in 2022-23 (October-September), which is 45 mt more than the actual purchase in the previous year. Besides, 34.15 mt of wheat has been estimated for procurement in 2023-24.

 

During the first session of the conference of State Food Secretaries, held on March 1, to discuss the procurement arrangements for the ensuing season, both wheat and rabi-grown rice targets have arrived after the feedback received from States, the food ministry said Thursday.

 

Initially, the target was 51.8 mt from kharif-grown rice, which was revised to 52.1 mt after higher procurement in Haryana. However, because of lower purchases in Tamil Nadu, the target has since got reduced to 51.47 mt from kharif season, out of which 93 per cent has already procured. 'If the target of 62.1 mt (which is over 47 per cent of total output) is achieved, it will be the highest ever rice purchase as the previous high was 60.25 mt in 2020-21,' said an official.

 

'States were advised to enhance milling capacity so that milling of one season gets completed before the commencement of the next season and recycling of rice may be avoided. It is expected that seamless procurement with direct transfer of money into farmer’s account, minimum cost of transportation, and human interference-free and quick analysis of foodgrains shall be a part of the ecosystem of Food Security Management very soon,' it said.

 

Apart from the auto grain analyser to be used by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), States have been advised to implement more Minimum Threshold Parameters, linking of electricity consumption of mills with the milled quantity of paddy and linking of vehicles used for transportation of foodgrain and their GPS tracking for increased efficiency and transparency by June 2023, the ministry said.

 

The auto grain analyser based on artificial intelligence can process results in a minute with high accuracy for paddy, rice, wheat, and coarse grain. It has been certified by ICAR-CIPHET of Ludhiana. The machine will help minimise human intervention, error and biases, and will also save time by giving digitally verifiable result of each grain.

 

The wheat procurement target this year assumes significance on the backdrop of 2022 experience when the government could buy only 18.79 mt against the target of 44.4 mt. The lower procurement led to a ban on wheat export, which still continues since May 2022, and also a reallocation of grains in terms of rice by cutting the wheat quota for the beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

 

Sources said that the target has been set at a conservative level as the food ministry does not want to take any chance with agriculture ministry’s production estimate. The agriculture ministry has already released its forecast of a record 112.18 mt of wheat production during 2022-23 crop year (July-June).

 

Addressing the state food ministers, Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal said that ‘SMART-PDS’ is a technological driven initiative and the need of hour, which should be implemented by all the States at the earliest. He emphasised on a transparent and accountable system and urged officials to reduce human intervention and promote automation in the existing processes. He said transparency should be of utmost importance for free supply chain of foodgrains under Public Distribution System (PDS).

 

After rice, wheat, maize, barley, and sorghum, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the sixth most significant cereal crop. It is a member of the 'Poaceae' family and is also known by a variety of other names, including Grano (Spanish), Bajra (Hindi), Kamboo (Tamil and Malayalam), Bajri (Marathi, Gujarati), and Bajra (Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu). Its origin place is Africa. Most of the world's tropical semi-arid regions in Africa and Asia are where pearl millet is farmed. Its potential to be grown in areas where wheat, maize, and other cereal crops fail to thrive is further increased by its capacity to survive in drought and hot climates.

 

The low soil fertility and high salinity are also resistive to pearl millet. In the grain of pearl millet, there are 75% endosperm, 17% germ, and 8% bran. The proportion of pearl millet germ is around twice that of sorghum, which shows that the grain of pearl millet contributes more to the nutritional content. In Asia and Africa, where 30 million hectares of land are used to cultivate it, pearl millet provides a staple food for 90 million underprivileged people.

 

India produces the most pearl millet in the world, with a total production area of 9.8 million hectares. Due to its health-promoting qualities, pearl millet is particularly advantageous for persons with disorders including diabetes, obesity, diabetic heart diseases, and metabolic diseases.

 

Nutritional Value

When compared to other cereal crops like wheat, rice, maize, and sorghum, pearl millet has a deeper root system that allows it to take more minerals from the soil and has a better nutritional value. Moreover, pearl millet has great nutrition and is a good source of macronutrients like iron and zinc. More protein (14.0%), fat (5.7%), fibre (2.0%), and ash (2.1%) are present in it than in the most widely grown cereal crops.

 

This crop is particularly beneficial to humans because to its superior protein quality in terms of tryptophan and threonine content as well as higher concentration of calcium, iron, and zinc. It has more folates (8%), magnesium (18%), thiamine (15%), niacin (14%), riboflavin (11%) and pyridoxine (11%), and it has 201 kcal of calories. It is also gluten-free and a respectable source of fibre. High levels of antioxidants, polyphenols, and phytochemicals, all of which are proven to support human health in a variety of ways, can be found in pearl millet. Frequent use of pearl millet as part of a healthy diet may help prevent nutrient deficits.

 

Health Benefits

Because the grain has relatively little gluten, pearl millet is regarded as a nutritious cereal food crop. As a result, pearl millet may show to be a practical low-cost substitute for those who are celiac, have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, are gluten sensitivity patients, or are food style enthusiasts. Due to the proliferative qualities connected to the presence of phenolic extracts, pearl millet has the ability to avoid carcinogenic effects.

 

Pearl millet eases constipation, lowers cholesterol, improves vision and eye health, and aids in reducing insulin resistance in diabetics. Compared to rice, wheat, and sorghum, it is an anti-diabetic cereal grain crop because of its low glycemic index and slow digestion capacity brought on by its higher fibre content. In vitro, the fibres in pearl millet grains have a prebiotic effect, causing probiotic cultures like Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium bifidus to proliferate. It is full of antioxidants and beneficial for weight watchers. Its flour is beneficial for the heart, controls blood pressure, prevents anaemia, increases bodily endurance, and strengthens bones.

 

Pearl Millet processing

After being dehusked, pearl millet is ingested and prepared similarly to how rice is. At the household level, a variety of traditional food processing and preparation techniques are accessible, such as soaking, blanching, decorticating, hydrothermal processing, germination, fermentation, or combining treatments and adding taste enhancers. It can be made into flour, salted ready-to-eat grains for thick and thin porridges, and confectionery.

 

It can also be roasted, popped, sprouted, and processed into flour. The taste, nutritional value, and product selection are all improved by processing pearl millet. Moreover, processing improves the bioavailability and digestibility of additional minerals while reducing anti-nutritional elements. Other processing techniques should be used with caution because they shorten the shelf life of pearl millet due to its high fat content. The grain works well for making malt as well. Its malted seeds can be used to make a booze.

 

The use of pearl millet in the creation of gruel, composite flour, cookies, cakes, biscuits, nankhatai, muffins, namkeen sev, matar, ladoo, popped ladoo, dhokla mix, idli mix, chapati mix, pasta, extruded products, ready-to-eat snack mix, rabadi, dumplings, and milk-based beverages has been demonstrated in several research work. Pearl millets are also used to make a number of traditional dishes, including bhakri, suhali, khichri, churma, shakkarpala, popped grain, dalia, and chapathi. Scientists have also developed a variety of pearl millet-based diabetic food compositions by parboiling them.

 

Koozh, a fermented beverage made from rice and pearl or finger millet, is a favourite among people in India's southern states. Pearl millet-based fermented beverages are becoming more popular on the market. Some of the common products of Africa include alcoholic beverages such opaque beer, chibuku shake, mbeg, and merissa as well as non-alcoholic beverages like boza, marewa, mahewu, pombe, pito, kunun zaki, bushera, and oskikundu. In India, it is also used to make flour for bread and as animal feed. Moreover, it lowers cholesterol and aids in digestive problems.

 

Problems with pearl millets

Pearl millet can grow in a variety of ecological situations with low precipitation and relative humidity, but there are still some difficulties that act as a barrier to pearl millet production. In Asia and Africa, 'downy mildew' or 'green ear' causes great damage to pearl millet.

 

The illness is transmitted through the soil and is brought on by the fungus Sclerospora graminicola, which causes the longitudinal shredding of the leaves and the browning of leaf streaks. Although pearl millet has many health advantages, it also includes antinutrient chemicals that prevent or impair the body's ability to absorb other nutrients, which may result in shortages.

 

One of these substances, phytic acid, prevents the absorption of potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Moreover, the millet includes trypsin inhibitors, phenols, tannins, and dietary fibre, which function as 'antinutrients' by chelating minerals. By building complexes with proteins and blocking enzymes, these substances are associated with a decrease in protein digestibility.

 

Moreover, the presence of polyphenolic pigments in the pericarp, alurone, and endosperm regions may result in the development of an unappealing grey colour and flavour in the finished product.

 

The occurrence of lipase activity in the pericarp, aleurone layer, and germ of grains is primarily responsible for the development of off flavours and aromas in flour and its products. Reduced anti-nutritional factors can be achieved by adopting a variety of processing procedures, including as dehulling, milling, malting, blanching, parboiling, acid and heat treatments, to increase the shelf life of pearl millet flour as well as processed products.

 

There are several major issues with pearl millet that have been limiting its consumption, including inadequate investments in product development and commercial ratio, low social status of small millet food, resistance to dietary fibre, and lack of knowledge on the use of pearl millet in the daily diet.

 

Future scope of pearl millets

The Food and Agriculture Organisation will celebrate 2023 as 'The International Year of Millets' to encourage the use of all millets, especially pearl millets, which highlights the significance of pearl millet. Pearl millets can be used to create a variety of baked goods, milk products, and beverages.

 

Adding pearl millet to food formulations can also enhance or fortify the nutritional content of finished goods. Further research should be done in order to better understand the potential of all the pearl millets cultivars grown in the nation as well as the development of new cultivars that are intriguing for grain production and food nutrition.

 

Studies on the effects of various food preparation methods, the development of a variety of products, sensory evaluation, grain and flour lipid stability, and clinical essays taking into account Indian diets where hypoglycemic and goitrogenic effects would be researched should all be taken into account.