Telangana: Experts stress importance of including millets in PDS for food security, nutrition

Insights of the experts will help pave the way for future-ready PDS system in India, says ICRISAT Board Chair

Sangareddy: Experts, who attended a debate organised on ‘Promoting Millets in the Public Distribution System’ in India by the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Tata Cornell Institute (TCI), underlined the importance of making millets permanent part of the PDS distribution chain for providing food security and nutrition. They felt that the inclusion of millets in the PDS remains underutilised.

Addressing the meeting organised at ICRISAT’s Hyderabad campus, Dr Prabhu Pingali, ICRISAT Board Chair and Director of TCI, observed that the insights of the experts would help pave the way for more effective and future-ready PDS system in India.

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“Millets can reshape our food systems, but only if we align policy, science, and action toward that goal. In response, the TCI is working with its partners to decode the ‘true cost of the PDS’—considering its environmental, economic, and nutritional impacts and assessing untapped opportunities for improvement. For example, by enabling States to source locally grown millets through the work of ICRISAT and its partners, we’re not just supporting farmers — we are strengthening the PDS to provide healthier more sustainable food for the most economically vulnerable,” he said.