The institute will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level

The finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget for 2023 speech has announced that India is envisioned to become a global hub for Shri Anna or Millets, with the country being the largest producer and second largest exporter of millets.

To make India a global hub for millet research, the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad will be made into a Centre of Excellence.

“The institute will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level,” the Minister said.

The FM listed out various millets such as Jowar, Ragi, Ramdana, Cheena, Sama, Bajra, Kutu, Kangni etc., and stated that they have various health benefits.

Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) is a premier agricultural research institute engaged in basic and strategic research on sorghum and other millets under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). IIMR coordinates and facilitates millets research at national level through All India Coordinated Research Projects on Sorghum, Pearl Millet and Small Millets and provides linkages with various national and international agencies.

According to analytics firm CRISIL, “The setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Millets, which have high nutritional content, will help increase the share of gross sown area under millets, which today stands at a mere 3% of total gross cropped area.”