Government mandates use of organic and millet-based snacks at official events

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has issued an order mandating the use of organic and millet-based food and beverages at all government meetings and events. The directive also includes a suggestive list of snacks that can be served.

The order aims to create domestic and global demand for organic and millet products while raising public awareness about nutritious food. All departments, their subordinate offices, corporations, and boards have been instructed to ensure that only organic and millet-based items are served during official functions.

Karnataka has already implemented an organic farming policy and has been actively promoting traditional and organic millets as a conscious food choice. As part of this initiative, under the Raitha Siri scheme, the state offers an incentive of Rs10,000 per hectare (up to 2 hectares) to farmers cultivating millets based on crop surveys.

In addition to crop incentives, the government also provides support for processing, value addition, sorting, packaging, and branding equipment. An organic and millet hub is also being set up in Hebbal, Bengaluru.

The government has now taken this a step further by extending the focus on organic and millet-based nutrition to government events as well.

List of recommended millet-based snacks for meetings and events:
Masala crunchy snacks, millet cookies, millet crunch bars, sweet millet treats, ragi-jaggery biscuits, millet puffs, crunchy mixtures, biscuits made from sprouted millets, boondi, corn pops, energy bars, ribbon pakoda, kodubale, and murukku.