'Excellent Effort': PM Modi Lauds Singer Falu's Song Honoring International Year of Millets

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded American Singer Falguni Shah, aka Falu for her song ‘Abundance in Millets’ which was inspired by India’s proposal for the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023, which was accepted by the United Nations.

Calling it an “excellent effort,” PM Modi took to Twitter and recognized Falu’s song for blending creativity with an important cause.

“There is abundance of health and well-being in Shree Ann or millets. Through this song, creativity has blended with an important cause of food security and removing hunger,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Falu’s shared a Tweet in which she announced her song and the inspiration behind it.

“Abundance in Millets a song inspired by PM Narendra Modi ‘s proposition to the UN to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Honored to collaborate with him, write a song to promote millets, help farmers grow it & help end world hunger,” Falu wrote.

“Abundance in Millets was created to raise awareness of the supergrain as another potential key to minimizing world hunger,” Falu’s music website said.

What is International Year of Millets (IYM)?

This comes after, PM Modi spearheaded India’s proposal to for the IYM, which was later accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Indian government submitted the proposal, acknowledging India as one of the largest producers of the Millets. The proposal was supported by 72 countries and United Nation’s General Assembly.

“The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM. The PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’,” Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said in a press release.

In March this year, PM Modi spoke at the Global Millet Conference in New Delhi, and called UN’s acceptance of his proposal a “great honour.”

India and Millets 

‘Millets’ were among the first crops to be domesticated in India with several evidence of its consumption during the Indus valley civilization, the press release said.

In India, millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples.

Recognising the enormous potential of Millets, which also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of India (GoI) has prioritized Millets.

The global millets market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period between 2021-2026.

The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has taken a proactive multi-stakeholder engagement approach, which includes engaging all the central government ministries, states/UTs, farmers, start-ups, exporters, retail businesses, hotels, Indian Embassies etc to achieve the aim of IYM 2023.

The ministry also aims to take Indian millets globally, the press release said.