Promoting the utilisation of millet was one of the many subjects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates during their interaction at the Prime Minister’s residence on Friday.
During their discussion, Prime Minister emphasised the need to enhance vegetarian diets, citing concerns over several harmful choices, and encouraged people to transition to millets as a healthier alternative.
Millets: A superfood with remarkable benefits
“I believe even vegetarian diets need improvement. For example, millets. I celebrated 2023 as the Millet Year with UN. Millets have great benefits as they grow on barren land, need minimal water and do not require any fertilizer. It is a superfood. Even within vegetarian options, some choices are more harmful and switching to millet could bring significant benefits,” the PM said.
Gates responded to the Prime Minister by mentioning he is aware of millets being a highly popular dietary staple in Odisha in the past.
“When I went to Odisha, I came to know that millet was very popular food there a long time ago and now it is coming back in the market in with the joint efforts of the government. They even took me to the shops where they offered me very nutritious foods and they tasted good to me,” Bill Gates added.
PM Modi further stated that many renowned companies are enhancing the value of millets and making it trendy and common by offering millet-based products.
“When you will go to five-star hotel here, you will find a different menu for millet foods,” the PM said.