International Year of Millets 2023
Also called: IYM 2023 · Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The International Year of Millets 2023 was declared by the UN General Assembly in March 2021. India proposed it, and over 70 countries supported it. The aim was to make people aware of millets. Millets are hardy grains such as jowar, bajra and ragi. They are very nutritious. They also need little water, grow fast and survive on poor soils. This means they suit a changing climate. After the Year, India began promoting millets as Shree Anna (Budget 2023). ICAR-IIMR Hyderabad was named a Global Centre of Excellence for millets.
Example
Karnataka is India's top ragi producer, and Rajasthan leads in bajra. Both were promoted as climate-smart foods under the millets campaign.
Don't confuse with
- Shree Anna: this is India's own name for millets and its policy to promote them (Budget 2023). The International Year of Millets was a UN declaration for the whole world.