Promote millets, national food technology institute students urged

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N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, distributing degree certificate to a candidate at the convocation of NIFTEM in Thanjavur on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Students of the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T) should strive to make millets a universal product such as oats, said N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Delivering the convocation address on the NIFTEM-T premises at Melavasthachavadi on the outskirts of Thanjavur on Friday, Dr. Kalaiselvi said the world was looking at India for various issues. “World’s view about the country is driven by factors such as intellectual talent, ethics, and values of lives,” she said.

Dr. Kalaiselvi said if oats could be promoted as a highly nutritious food why not millets, known for their low glycemic index and rich fibre promoted as a universal product for diabetes. “Technologies based on millets, traditional grains, probiotics, functional ingredients, and nutraceuticals are opening entirely new frontiers for food innovation,” she said.

“All that you have to concentrate is to make the product concur with global standards so that your product can make a mark in the world market in addition to the local market which is one-third of the global market,” she said.

While success of all other industries was dependent on the availability of raw material, the food industry did not suffer on this front in view of sufficient production of agriculture produce, she said.

C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, outlined the possibilities of making millets a staple and reliable food for diabetics. He urged the NIFTEM-T students to concentrate on inventing value-added products from coconuts apart from inventing new value-added products using millets.

T.G. Sitharam, Chair