The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets and millets have also been given a prominent place in the Union Budget for this year.
Mumbai: Marico Limited, one of India’s leading FMCG companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NUTRIHUB and Indian Institute of Millets Research (Under Indian Council of Agricultural research) for a period of two years. The MoU, signed during the International Year of Millets aims to increase research, development, and training collaboration in the field of millets processing and value addition.
The MoU was signed between Dr. B Dayakar Rao , PS & CEO, Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR and Dr. Shilpa Vora, Chief Research and Development Officer, Marico Limited in the presence of Shri. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, CEO, FSSAI ,Food License Registration Services India.
The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets and millets have also been given a prominent place in the Union Budget for this year. This collaboration opens up new possibilities for innovating within the market to produce more millet-based products for consumers across India to meet all the taste preferences in the country.
Through this partnership, Marico Limited aims to promote millets through its differentiated product offerings. Further, the MoU will help combine the R&D expertise of the two entities and help Marico expand its offerings of millets through experiment with different recipes that can perfectly balance taste with health. This is also a milestone in the company’s efforts to expand its healthy foods portfolio which currently includes products made with millets in the form of Saffola Oats Karara Crunch and Saffola Munchiez Ragi chips.
Speaking about the association, Dr. Shilpa Vora, Chief Research & Development Officer, Marico Limited, said, “India is one of the largest producers of millets and this association with NUTRIHUB and IIMR will further unlock the potential of millets and help in making millet-based products widely available in a variety of formats while balancing health and taste. With this partnership, we aim to create differentiated offerings with millets that are tasty yet healthy and can easily integrate with people’s lifestyles. This MoU will enable us to experiment more with millets and make the superfood more mainstream in the Indian diet in the long run.”
Commenting on the partnership, Dr. B Dayakar Rao , PS & CEO, Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR, said, “We are pleased to sign this MOU with Marico. Nutrihub is a focal point where ideas, entrepreneurs, agriprenuers, start-ups, experts, academia, and the funding agencies gravitate towards creation of a new knowledge-based economy. ICAR-IIMR through its TBI would like to contribute to the success of the National Innovation system, by providing the right ambience and infrastructure for nurturing innovation, technical skills and entrepreneurial talents of thousands of millets stakeholders and we believe this association with Marico will help achieve this. Year 2023 has been declared as international year of the millet and thus this MOU becomes very important for both the parties and for the overall economic development, farmer support and consumer delight. I congratulate Marico team for taking this initiative and partnering with us.”
