Parliament: MP Satnam Sandhu demands research centre on millets dedicating to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji at PAU Ludhiana

MP Satnam Singh Sandhu raises issue of crop diversification and schemes for promoting millets amongst Punjab farmers  

Babushai Bureau

New Delhi, March 27, 2026: The nation is grateful to farmers of Punjab for their hard work and helping us in eradicating hunger and making India self-reliant in foodgrains through Geen Revolution, said Union Agriculture Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The Union Minister further added that the first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev Ji advocated the use of millets like Kodra in 15th century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi understood the importance of millets and promoted millets which is a complete nutritional food not just within the country but all across the world. The Union Minister was speaking in Rajya Sabha in response to the question asked by Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu.

Earlier, during the Question Hour, MP Satnam Singh Sandhu asked the government about the policies formulated to increase the area under millet cultivation in Punjab as part of efforts to diversify cropping patterns and reduce dependency on water-intensive crops like paddy.

During his address in Parliament, MP Satnam Sandhu presented the grave situation that Punjab is facing today due to paddy-wheat cycle. He said, “Punjab has geographical area of 50 lakh hectares and 40 lakh hectares is cultivable and 99 percent of the area is irrigated. The paddy-wheat cycle uses more than 75 percent of Punjab’s total land under cultivation which requires excessive water. Due to which Punjab is facing serious water crisis as more than 80 percent of the groundwater blocks in the state are in dark zone category due to over exploitation of groundwater.”

While replying to the question of MP Satnam Sandu regarding cultivation of millets and crop diversification in Punjab, the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed the house that the department of agriculture and farmers’ welfare is implementing various schemes to promote crop diversification which includes National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM) under which millets (Shree Anna) is being promoted across 28 states and 2 UTs.

While giving details for Punjab, the Union Minister said, “Under NFSNM, an amount of Rs 31.60 lakh has been approved for the state of Punjab in 2025-26 to promote millets cultivation.”

The Minister further added, “The crop diversification program under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY). The government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 103.75 crore in 2025-26 for Punjab’s farmers to divert them from cultivating traditional crops to alternative crops like millets, pulses, oilseeds and cereals.”

The Union Agriculture Minister also informed the house that a total of 140 quintals of seeds of millets has been distributed under the NFSNM scheme in 2025-26.

The Union Government is also incentivizing food processing units and exporters under Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for food processing industry and with an outlay of Rs 800 crores during the last five years. As many as 29 applicants have been incentivized with an amount of Rs 793 Crores across India which includes three projects in Kapurthala, Patiala and Jalandhar districts of Punjab.

The Minister also informed that house that the Union government has approved 4612 mirco-food processing enterprises under Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme out of which five micro-food enterprises for millets have been approved in Punjab.

Union Government is concerned with the soil-degradation and underground water depletion situation of Punjab says Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan

On Union Government’s push for millet production in the country, the Union Agriculture Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “The Union Government has been successful in promoting millets as an alternate crop to paddy-wheat cycle which was being practised by many states including Punjab. The millet production in India has increased from around 160 lakh tonnes from 2021-22 to 185.92 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 and the cultivation area is expanding rapidly.

“In recent decades, the overuse of water and chemical fertilizers has degraded soil fertility, with Punjab witnessed a shift toward water-intensive wheat-paddy cultivation, leading to water depletion, nutrient imbalance and declining soil health. To address these challenges, the union government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several steps to promote millet production including the introduction of initiatives such as Shri Anna (millets) and declaration of International Year of Millets in 2023. Efforts are continuously being made to increase millet production, promote crop diversification and encourage the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds. In line with this vision, the International Year of Millets 2023 was celebrated with participation from over 100 countries and all Indian states. With growing awareness, more people are adopting millets in their diets. I am confident that under the Prime Minister’s leadership, crop diversification will gain further momentum, and both the production and consumption of Shri Anna will continue to rise,” added the Union Minister.MP Satnam Singh Sandhu Demands Research Centre on Millets dedicating to Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji at PAU Ludhiana

MP Satnam Sandhu Highlights the Role of Punjab Agriculture University for Research and Producing High-Yielding Varieties of Crops

MP Satnam Singh in his address to the houses urged the Union government to establish a research centre on millets on the name of Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana as the first Sikh Guru was the first saint who propagated the use of millets (Kodra) in 15th century in India. MP Sandhu highlighted the role of Punjab Agriculture University in doing research and producing high-yielding variety of crops that played a major role in making India a self-reliant nation in foodgrain during the Green Revolution.

While thanking the Union Minister for Agriculture for presenting the facts and figures in parliament during the last session that showed that Punjab’s farmers were not responsible for increasing the air pollution due to stubble burning.

The Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan again reiterated that farmers are not responsible for increasing the air pollution levels. He praised the farmers of Moga from Punjab who have switched to new methods of crop residue management rather than adopting the traditional way of stubble burning.

The Union Agriculture Minister had visited Ransih Kalan villages of Moga in November 2025 where he witnessed the Punjab farmers adopting new methods of crop residue management such as direct seeding and mulching.

The Minister also informed the house that a total of 45 high-yielding varieties of millet crops were released for the farmers of Punjab which included Jowar, Bajra and others which are currently being cultivated in districts such as Bathinda, Fazilka, Mansa, Moga, Rupnagar, and Sangrur regions traditionally known for millet production.