Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Millet Cafe located near Natwar School in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh and Chhattisgarh government’s initiative to promote millet. In his radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Prime Minister Modi has mentioned the Millet Café and praised it. He asked the listeners that whenever they get a chance to visit Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, they should visit Millet Cafe and enjoy the cuisine there. Pasta, Cheela, Idli, Manchurian, Momos, Pizza, Noodle, Dosa made from Ragi, Biryani made from Kodo can be tasted in this cafe.

It is worth mentioning here that Millet Cafe located near Natwar School in Raigarh town is a one-of-its kind cafe that serves delectable dishes made from millets like Ragi, Kodo, Kutki, combining nutrition with taste. This cafe has the distinction of being the first millet cafe in the state that is operated by women.

It needs to be recalled here that the year 2023 is being celebrated as the International Millet Year to encourage production and consumption of millets. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Mission-Millet has been launched in Chhattisgarh to boost the production of coarse grains and minor grain crops like Ragi, Kodo, Kutki, to ensure good arrangements for procurement of these millet crops and to take these to the city markets after processing. Besides fixing the support price of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi, the state government has also included them in the purview of Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. A total of 14 districts of the state have been included under this mission.

For this, an MoU has been signed with the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad. Under the MoU, the Indian Institute of Millet Research Hyderabad is providing cooperation and guidance for increasing the productivity of Kodo, Kutki and Ragi in Chhattisgarh, besides rendering the expertise on technical know-how, availability of high quality seeds and establishment of seed bank. Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country, where production and consumption of millets are being promoted continuously under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Chhattisgarh Government is procuring Kodo, Kutki and Ragi at the support price. In Chhattisgarh, the biggest processing plant of millets has also been set up at Nathia-Navagaon in Kanker district. To promote millets, millets processing plants are being set up in rural industrial parks as well. For many generations, grains like Ragi, Kodo were a major part of our diet. But over the period of time, the consumption of these grains became less and less popular. It is noteworthy that these grains are rich in many nutrients that are essential for health. The State government is taking important steps to encourage consumption of these grains in daily diet. Millet cafe is one of the many initiatives taken by Chhattisgarh Government in this direction. This cafe has been started with the initiative and cooperation of the district administration and is being operated by the Vikas Sangh Women’s Group. Women and Child Development Department and the Transforming Rural India Foundation are providing the technical support. Through this millet based cafe, women self-employment and entrepreneurship is also being promoted.