On Tuesday, ITC, a conglomerate, joined hands with the Department of Post to unveil a unique postal stamp aimed at promoting awareness about millets. The special stamp’s launch ceremony took place with the esteemed presence of Kailash Choudhary, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, along with Chief Post Master General Sushri Manju Kumar and S Sivakumar, the ITC Group Head – Agri-Business.
According to a statement, the ITC Mission Millets postal stamp recognizes the vital contribution of farmers while also establishing a link between sustainable farming, nutritious food products, and delectable millet-based recipes and dishes.
At the event, Choudhary emphasized the government’s efforts in promoting Shree Anna (millets), highlighting India’s status as the world’s largest millet producer.
Numerous initiatives have been undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, including celebrating the International Year of Millets-2023, organizing the G20 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting (AMM), and designating ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad, as the Global Centre of Excellence on Millets (Shree Anna).
ITC’s Sivakumar said, “Supporting the government’s focus on mainstreaming millets, ITC has spearheaded a dedicated initiative called ITC Mission Millets which is powered by a 3-pillar strategy. This encompasses the development of a ‘good-for-you’ foods portfolio backed by innovation, implementation of sustainable farming systems with the creation of a robust millets agri value chain with special thrust on enhancing value-addition and market linkages.”
Presently, there is a heightened emphasis on increasing consumer awareness regarding the advantages of millets, recognized as a nutritionally superior food choice.
ITC has innovated an array of millet-based products available in both traditional and modern formats, encompassing ready-to-eat meals, cookies, noodles, vermicelli, choco sticks, snacks, as well as staples like Multi Millet Mix and Ragi Flour.
In addition, ITC Hotels have curated and incorporated exclusive millet-based dishes into their buffet offerings.
Earlier this year, ITC launched its Mission Millets initiative to bring millets to the mainstream.