Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday tabled the Budget 2025. During her Budget 2025 speech, the Finance Minister announced that a special Makhana Board will be set up in Bihar.
“This will improve production, marketing, value addition of Makhana in the State,” said Sitharaman.
“The people engaged in these activities will be organized into FPOs. The Board will provide handholding and training support to makhana farmers and will also work to ensure they receive the benefits of all relevant Government schemes,” she said.
Makhana, also known as Fox Nuts, is harvested from the prickly water lily, a plant that is spread across over 15,000 hectares in Bihar. According to a report by CNBCTV18, the processing includes farmers navigating murky waters where these lilies grow to extract the seeds of the plant, which are then dried and processed under high heat and popped into the form fox nuts are sold.
In the recent years, Makhana has seen multifold growth over the past few years. Makhana has gained popularity for being low in calories, rich in antioxidants and a good source of magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. It is touted to benefit heart health, help in diabetes management and weight management.
According to IMARC, India’s Makhana market was valued at Rs 7.8 billion in 2023, and IMARC expects this space to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% to reach 18.9 billion by 2032.
In April 2022, Makhana received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag as ‘Mithila Makhana’. Reportedly, this skyrocketed Makhana’s popularity. Reports suggest, the prices rose from just Rs 1000 a kilo 10 years ago to as high as Rs 8,000 per kg. Bihar accounts for 90 percent of the makhana produced in the country, producing 10,000 tonnes of makhana per annum. This turned into a lucrative livelihood for many in the state with reports suggesting around 5 lakh families are engaged in processing of fox nuts. It is also important to note that Bihar is set to go for elections in November this year.
Nikhil Kamath, Indian entrepreneur and Zerodha co-founder, took to LinkedIn and shared how he is “hooked on Makhana.”
While describing how Makhana is now one of those foods that appeals to a large number of people worldwide. The businessman stated on Linkedin, “Maybe room here to build a really large brand, an Indian brand that sells to the world.”