 "millets")
The government should provide an option to beneficiaries of various public distribution schemes to bundle millets along with wheat and rice within their entitled quantity.
Furthermore, the Centre should explore the possibility of distributing millets in addition to rice and wheat under the public distribution programme and other welfare initiatives such as Integrated Child Development Services and Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman. This comes as more and more states are opting for millets, as noted in a report by a Parliament Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs, and Public Distribution, which was presented in Lok Sabha on Monday.
However, data in the same report showed that between 2018-19 (FY19) and 2022-23 (FY23), millet production has risen from 13.71 million tonnes (mt) to 15.9 mt (a rise of 16 per cent), while non-millet production, including maize and barley, has increased from 29.34 mt in FY19 to 36.81 mt in FY23 (an increase of 25.46 mt).
The report also highlights that procurement of coarse cereals, including jowar, bajra, ragi, and maize (both millets and non-millets), has seen a ninefold increase between 2016-17 and FY23.
Simultaneously, the distribution of coarse grains through the public distribution system (PDS), which was initially limited to just two states of Haryana and Maharashtra in 2017-18 (FY18), has now expanded to nine states, including Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Tamil Nadu.
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According to the report, the government procured around 70,462 tonnes of coarse cereals in FY18, which has now increased ninefold to 630,000 tonnes by FY23.
Regarding the allocation and distribution of coarse grains, the committee found that the total allocation of coarse grains to various states for distribution under targeted PDS and other welfare schemes has increased from 73,000 tonnes in 2014-15 to 580,000 tonnes in FY23, showing an eightfold growth over nine years. The committee predicts that this is likely to go up further to 920,000 tonnes in 2023-24.
Addressing the minimum support price (MSP) of coarse cereals, the panel found that the MSP for five coarse grains, namely ragi, jowar, bajra, maize, and barley, has increased by 148 per cent, 108 per cent, 100 per cent, 59 per cent, and 50 per cent, respectively, in the past 10 years.
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