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Millet Mission and Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals (Sri Anna) Photo: Deep Malik · Pexels License · source ↗

Millet Mission and Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals (Sri Anna)

The Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals - branded "Shree Anna" by the Government of India - is the central scheme component for promotion of millets under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM). It targets sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), small millets (foxtail/korralu, kodo, barnyard, little, proso) and amaranth across 14 states. The mission was given heightened priority in the Union Budget 2023-24 alongside India's lead role in the United Nations International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). For Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts of Andhra Pradesh - dryland tracts where ragi, foxtail millet and minor millets are traditional kharif crops - the mission is the principal vehicle for revival of millet cultivation.

Scope and launch

NFSM-Millets was launched in 2018 as the dedicated sub-mission for millet promotion, following the rebranding of millets as "nutri-cereals" by Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. The Government of India declared 2018 as the National Year of Millets and successfully advocated the UN International Year of Millets in 2023. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha are the principal southern states under the sub-mission. The Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad provides the technical backstopping.

Eligibility and exclusions

All farmers in the 14 notified states can avail of the sub-mission's input and demonstration support; sub-allocations to individual districts are based on millet acreage and potential. Small and marginal farmers receive higher subsidy ratios; SC/ST and women farmers get preferential allocations. The sub-mission is implemented through state Agriculture Departments, ATMA, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ICAR institutes; commercial-scale processing units are supported separately through the PMFME (Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) scheme.

Benefit structure

  • Cluster demonstration (1 ha plot): 100 percent input cost up to Rs 7500/ha for cereal-millet hybrid demonstrations and millet area expansion programmes.
  • Seed subsidy: 50 percent on certified seed cost for notified varieties, capped per ha.
  • Farm implements: 50 percent (max Rs 50,000 individual; Rs 10 lakh for FPOs) on millet-specific equipment (seed drill, weeder, harvester).
  • Processing: support for millet primary processing units (dehulling, milling, grading) and FPO-led value chains.
  • Procurement: state governments procure ragi and jowar at MSP through state agencies; Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have institutional procurement under PDS and ICDS supplementary feeding.
  • Hub-and-spoke processing centres: established with IIMR Hyderabad to incubate millet entrepreneurs.

Implementation

The State Mission Director (Agriculture) operates the sub-mission at state level, with cluster demonstration programmes routed through District Collector and DAO offices. In Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai, the AP State Agriculture Department promotes Sri Anna under the integrated cropping plan via Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs - see Rythu Bandhu Rythu Bharosa), with KVK Anantapuramu providing variety demonstrations. Common varieties promoted include foxtail millet (Foxtail Millet Korralu Cultivation) cultivars SiA 3085, SiA 3088, Suryanandi (SiA 3156) and finger millet (Finger Millet Ragi Cultivation) cultivars VR 762, GPU 28, Sri Chaitanya, ML 365.

How farmers register

Farmers register through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) or local Mandal Agricultural Officers with land records and Aadhaar. Cluster demonstrations are notified annually with eligible villages identified by the district agriculture office. Beneficiary lists are entered on the NFSM portal (nfsm.gov.in) and benefit is delivered as Aadhaar-seeded DBT.

See also: Foxtail Millet Korralu Cultivation, Finger Millet Ragi Cultivation, Finger Millet Blast Pyricularia, AP Hortmission State Mission, Rythu Bandhu Rythu Bharosa.

Sources

  1. Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals (NFSM-Millets). Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
  2. International Year of Millets 2023. Press Information Bureau.
  3. Indian Institute of Millets Research. ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad.