GS Paper 3 10 marks · 150w 9 min Easy
Explain the role of millets for ensuring health and nutritional security in India.
Subtopic: Agriculture & Food Security · millets and nutritional security
How to structure your answer
Introduction (millets as 'Shree Anna', IYM 2023) → nutritional profile: micronutrients, protein, fibre → health outcomes: diabetes, anaemia, obesity → food-security virtues: climate resilience, rainfed, dryland farming → policy push: PDS, POSHAN, NFSM sub-mission → Conclusion (millets as pillar of nutrition-sensitive agriculture)
Detailed model answer
187 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction
Millets—rebranded as Shree Anna—are nutri-cereals such as jowar, bajra, ragi and the small millets. India, the world's largest producer, proposed the UN-declared International Year of Millets (2023), reviving them as a tool for both nutritional and food security.
Role in Health and Nutrition
- Micronutrient density: ragi is exceptionally rich in calcium and iron, bajra in iron and zinc, directly addressing anaemia and hidden hunger flagged by NFHS-5.
- Protein and fibre: higher protein and dietary fibre than polished rice, aiding satiety and gut health.
- Low glycaemic index: slow-release carbohydrates help manage diabetes and obesity—crucial for India's growing non-communicable disease burden.
- Gluten-free and suitable for celiac and lifestyle-disease diets.
Role in Food Security
- Grown on marginal, rainfed and dryland soils with low water and input needs—climate-resilient against drought and erratic monsoons.
- Short duration and hardiness make them dependable for smallholders in semi-arid regions, diversifying diets beyond the rice-wheat basket.
Policy Push
Inclusion in PDS, POSHAN Abhiyaan, mid-day meals and ICDS, plus a National Food Security Mission (Nutri-Cereals) sub-mission, is mainstreaming millets.
Conclusion
By marrying nutrition, farmer incomes and climate resilience, millets are central to a shift toward nutrition-sensitive, sustainable agriculture.
What an examiner expects to see
- Millets ('Shree Anna') are nutri-cereals; India is the largest producer and proposed the UN International Year of Millets 2023.
- Rich in calcium (ragi), iron and zinc (bajra) — counter anaemia and hidden hunger highlighted by NFHS-5.
- High protein and fibre, gluten-free, low glycaemic index — help manage diabetes, obesity and NCDs.
- Climate-resilient: grown on rainfed, marginal, dryland soils with low water and input requirements.
- Diversify diets beyond the rice-wheat monoculture, improving smallholder resilience.
- Mainstreamed via PDS, POSHAN Abhiyaan, mid-day meals, ICDS and the NFSM Nutri-Cereals sub-mission.
- Millets link nutrition security, farmer income and climate adaptation simultaneously.
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- International Year of Millets 2023 (UN, on India's proposal)
- Ragi/finger millet's high calcium; bajra's iron content addressing anaemia (NFHS-5)
- National Food Security Mission – Nutri-Cereals (Millets) sub-mission
- Millets included in PDS, POSHAN Abhiyaan and mid-day meal schemes
- Odisha Millets Mission promoting ragi in tribal districts
Terminology to weave into the answer
Shree Annanutri-cerealshidden hungerlow glycaemic indexclimate-resilient agriculturenutrition-sensitive agriculture