UPSC Mains 2018 GS Paper 3 Q14: model answer

In the 1960s millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi covered about 37 million ha in India; by the 2010s their area had fallen to under 15 million ha. The crops that the state favoured with price and procurement took their place.

How emphasis changed cropping patterns

• Rice and wheat: MSP with assured procurement, free power and canal water spread paddy even to semi-arid Punjab and Haryana.
• Sugarcane in Maharashtra and UP, supported by the state-advised price and sugar mills.
• Soybean spread in Madhya Pradesh after the 1980s oilseeds mission.
• Cotton grew after Bt cotton in 2002.

Consequences

• Groundwater depletion and soil fatigue in cereal belts.
• Nutritional imbalance: more rice and wheat, less coarse grain, pulses and oilseeds.
• Import dependence on edible oil.

Why millets

• Rich in fibre, iron, calcium and protein; low glycaemic index.
• Grow on poor soils with 350–500 mm of rain; climate resilient.
• Need few inputs, suiting small rainfed farmers.

Emphasis on millet production

• 2018: National Year of Millets; millets notified as nutri-cereals.
• International Year of Millets 2023, proposed by India at the UN; branding as Shree Anna.
• MSP increases, millet seed hubs, and a Centre of Excellence at IIMR Hyderabad.

Emphasis on consumption

• Inclusion in PDS, PM POSHAN and anganwadi meals; Odisha Millets Mission and Karnataka's ragi in PDS.
• PLI scheme for millet-based foods, and start-up incubation.

Challenges

• Low yields, weak procurement and a short shelf life of millet flour.
• Processing (dehulling) is laborious, and urban taste habits favour wheat and rice.
• Premium 'millet' snacks reach the rich, while the poor who once ate millets have moved to subsidised rice.

Millets will return to the plate only when they return to the procurement list and the tiffin box together.