CFTRI to start ‘One Week One Laboratory’ initiative in June

The programme aims at highlighting the contributions of the premier food lab with special emphasis on millets

Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh with the Director and scientists from CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru and other CSIR labs after launching the desktop calendar 2023 on millets at CSIR Innovations on Millets programme , held in New Delhi on Monday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CSIR-CFTRI Director Sridevi Annapurna Singh has said that the Mysuru-based CSIR-CFTRI is organising “One Week One Laboratory” programme in the second week of June 2023 to highlight CFTRI’s contributions with special emphasis on millets among other achievements. 

The programme is the brainchild of Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh, who is also the Vice-President of CSIR.

In her address at the ‘CSIR innovations on millets’ held in New Delhi commemorating the International Year of Millets, on Monday, Ms. Sridevi Annapurna Singh presented the key contributions of CSIR in the area of millet processing and also emphasised the contributions of CFTRI, Mysuru, NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram and IHBT, Palampur - the constituent laboratories of CSIR in this area.  Mr.r Jitendra Singh inaugurated the programme.

Representatives of food processing industries who have taken CSIR-CFTRI technologies shared their experiences and thanked the organisation for the support. More than 600 participants from various secretaries and officials from Central government ministries, regulatory bodies, directors of CSIR institutes, scientists, students, industrial partners and students attended the programme, said a PIB press release that was circulated in Mysuru by the CSIR-CFTRI.

The programme had an interaction with experts, scientists, and industrial partners.

This varied group of small-seeded grasses called millets include jowar (sorghum), ragi (finger millet), kodo (kodo millet), kutki (little-millet), kakun (foxtail - millet), sanwa (barnyard- millet), cheena (proso millet), kuttu (buckwheat) and chaulai (amaranth). It may be recalled that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations organised an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets – 2023 (IYM2023) in Rome, Italy, the release said. 

India produces over 170 lakh tonnes of millets, thus accounting for 80 per cent of Asia’s and 20 percent of global production, the release added.

In his address, Mr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the efforts of CSIR, especially CSIR-CFTRI, Mysuru in developing technologies and machineries for processing, value-added products from millets and also in the area of skill development, and detailed how the government’s initiatives are going to revive consumption of millets not just in India, but globally and increase the farmers’ income.

Mr. Jitendra Singh also inaugurated an exhibition and released the Desktop Calendar 2023 on Millets as part of the celebrations of “International Year of Millets-2023” by CSIR Labs. The exhibition had a display of products and technologies developed in CSIR-CFTRI and also other CSIR labs and will showcase the capabilities of CSIR-CFTRI in millets R and D and reach out to various stakeholders on the institute’s millet-based technologies at the national level.