Coarse Grain Fair cum Exhibition organised in Madurai

Tags: National

The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries organised a two-day Coarse Cereals Fair-cum-Exhibition from March 6-7, 2023 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

An Overview of the news:

• The fair cum exhibition was organised as part of the Mota Anaj Mahotsav series in collaboration with the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu.

• Tamil Nadu is known for the production of various coarse cereals. These cereals include Pearl Millet (Bajra), Jowar, Ragi, Little Millet-Kutki (Foxtail Millet-Kangni, Sawan, Kodo, Chena-Punarva) and Small Millet.

• During the event, the first Common Incubation Center under the Prime Minister's Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme was inaugurated at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University's Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Madurai.

• The objective of the two-day event was to provide a platform to micro and food processing entrepreneurs to interact with leading industry people through B2B and B2C interactions organised during buyer-seller meets.

Megafood Event World Food India 2023

• In addition to Mota Anaj Mahotsav, the Ministry will also organise the megafood event World Food India 2023 from 3 to 5 November 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

• The event will be the biggest ever gathering of dignitaries, global investors and leaders from leading global and domestic companies that will place India firmly on the global food scene.

• 2023 has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Millet Year.

• Grown in more than 130 countries, millets are a traditional food for more than half a billion people in Asia and Africa.

• India is one of the leading producers of coarse cereals in the world with an estimated share of about 41 per cent in global production.

PMFME Scheme

• Prime Minister's Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries on 29 June 2020 as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat campaign.

• Its objective is to enhance the competitiveness of individual micro enterprises in the unorganised sector and encourage formalisation of this sector.