ONE DAY COLLOQUIUM ON ENHANCING PRODUCTION PRODUCTIVITY AND CONSUMPTION OF MINOR MILLETS FOR NUTRITIONAL SECURITY ORGANISED At DOON BUSINESS SCHOOL, SELAQUI, DEHRADUN

Date :- 17^th June 2023

As year 2023 is declared as the “International Year of Millets” to promote awreness about millets and its importance Doon Business School, Dehradun hosted a one day colloquium to shed light on the utilization of millets for nutritional Security. Dr. I.J. Gulati (Principal, School of Agriculture and allied Sciences DBS group) made introductory remarks on millet cultivation and consumption. The event was resided by esteemed guests from by various distinguished fields:-

1. Dr. Madhu Madegowda Director of Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC)
2. Dr. Gauri Shankar Director, Directorate of Agriculture, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
3. Dr. A.K Shrivastava Ex. Director, ICAR-VPKAS Almora, Uttarakhand
4. Dr. Abhay Saxena Deputy Director, Directorate of Agriculture, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
5. Mr. Pankaj Aggarwal CEO, Treta Agro Pvt. Ltd., Kashipur.

The panel discussion was quite fruitful for researchers, academicians, policy planners and the students interested in sustainable development in general and enhancing production, productivity and consumption of minor millets in Uttarakhand. “In line with recent awareness on functional food and nutraceuticals, millets have a great potential”, said Dr. Madhu Madegowda (Director of Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC}). Dr. Gauri Shankar's opinion, “Millets can handle food, critical challenges in the future such as fuel, malnutrition, health and even climate change.” Dr. A K Srivastava enlightened the listeners on how millets aid in the prevention of numerous non-communicable lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, cardio-vascular diseases, etc. Dr. Abhay Saxena further elaborated that due to their adaptability to a wide range of temperature and moisture regimes as well as their low input requirements, millets are indeed resistant to climate change.

"The millet market had a value of over $9 Billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a rate of over 4.5% by 2025, with a value projection of over $12 Billion", Mr. Pankaj Aggarwal, CEO, Treta Agro Pvt. Ltd., Kashipur was quoted saying. The event was a great success due to the collaborating efforts between Mr Mohit Aggarwal, chairman DBS group, Dr. I.J. Gulati, Principal, School of Agriculture and Allied sciences, the dignitaries and DBS faculties and students. The students expanded their knowledge horizons by actively interacting and questioning with the panel. They also curated innovative posters on the subject to raise awareness on why this year has been declared as the International Year of Millets. Faculties of Agriculture and Agribusiness