Consulate General of India

Shanghai

Press Release

Celebration of International Year of Millets – 2023 in Shanghai

      The International Year of Millets (IYM)-2023 was celebrated in Shanghai with a “Millet Food Festival cum Exhibition” on 23 February 2023. The celebrations were organized at the Garden pavilion, Hotel Grand Millennium Hongqiao, Shanghai on 23^rd February, 2023.

2. Dr. N. Nandakumar, Consul General of India in Shanghai and Mrs. N. Sreedevi inaugurated the event by lighting the auspicious peacock lamp. Dr. N. Nandakumar delivered the welcome remarks, while Mr. Leopoldo Michel Diaz, Acting Consul General of Mexico in Shanghai and Dr. Dong Le, Programme officer (Partnership & Innovation), Food and Agriculture Organization Representative Office, Beijing delivered keynote remarks on the occasion. A short video on the IYM produced by the GoI was also screened during the programme.

3. Delivering the welcome address, Dr. N. Nandakumar underlined that guided by the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, GoI proposed celebration of the Year 2023 as IYM at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which was supported by more than 70 countries. He highlighted the efforts made by GoI to promote production and consumption of Millets in India as part of GoI’s strategy to improve food and nutritional security in the country. He also noted that India has invested in creating technologies for promoting production, processing and value addition of Millets, which could be of relevance to other Millet producing countries. Quoting Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, he also called for looking at Millets from the perspective of global food security.

4. Welcoming the initiative of GoI to shine the spotlight on Millets through IYM, Mr. Leopoldo Michel Diaz, Consul General of Mexico in Shanghai, said that Mexico recognizes the potential of Millets in achieving several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like fighting hunger, poverty, and achieving good health and well-being. He stressed that with its experience and longstanding multilateral tradition, Mexico plays an important role in the UN 2030 Agenda and hopes to work with India and other countries to take concrete actions to ensure food access for everyone.

5. Dr. Dong Le, Programme Officer, FAO Representative Office in Beijing, said that the Millets could contribute towards ensuring food safety, nutrition, increase in income of small and marginalized farmers, and improving the diversity of global food system. He also brought out climate-resilience of Millets helping in reducing soil degradation and supporting biodiversity, adding that the genetic diversity of Millets lends to many diverse and innovate applications in areas such as therapeutics and pharmaceuticals.

6. The focus of the event was a tasting session of Millet based Indian and international cuisines. More than 25 dishes like Foxtail Millet salad, Little Millet Soup, Foxtail Millet Bhel, Millet Papdi and Sev, Millet Kachori & Samosa, Bajra Chicken Seekh Kabab, Millet Hummus, Sorghum and Pearl Millet Kothimbhir Wadi, Ragi and Buckwheat Millet Flakes Granola, Pearl Millet veggie wrap, Ragi Pakoda, Sorghum Millet Mini Idli, Sorghum Bakhri, Foxtail Millet Coconut Cookies, Fermented Pearl Millet drink, Foxtail Millet Brownie, and Finger Millet Burfi etc., were presented for tasting, which were widely appreciated by the guests. Mr. James Singh, General Manager, Boutique Hotel and Resorts, Shanghai introduced the millet based dishes to the gathering. The Millets based dishes were prepared by a team of talented Chefs from Indian Community in Shanghai.

7. An exhibition pavilion to disseminate information about Millets, their nutritional value and health benefits was also a part of the programme. Apart from the Millet grains, 22 different categories of Millets based processed food products obtained from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) were also showcased in the exhibition pavilion. Further, books on Millets based Indian and International recipes brought out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of GoI were displayed in the exhibition pavilion for the benefit of the visitors. In addition, soft copies of the book “Millets International Recipes – A Culinary Journey of Tradition and Innovation” was also shared with the guests. The exhibition pavilion attracted wide attention and appreciation from the guests.

8. As a part of the IYM celebrations, Indian classical dance performances viz., Bharatnatyam and Kuchhipudi were also organized. Ms Jin Shanshan and Ms. Jessica Wu enthralled the audience with their dance performance for three Tamil keerthans - Desh Krishna, Govindmiha and Swagadam Krishna- depicting various episodes in the life of Lord Krishna. Similarly, Ms. Lulu Wang, a trained Kuchipudi dancer in Shanghai, performed for Telugu keerthan ‘Krishan Shabdam’, an episode from the Kuchipudi repertoire.

9. The programme witnessed enthusiastic participation from Diplomatic corps based in Shanghai, members of academic community, CEOs of Indian companies and owners of Indian restaurants in Shanghai. It was also covered by the local media.

24^th February, 2023

Shanghai