United Nations has declared the year 2023 as
- (a)The International Year of Millets
- (b)The International Year of Wheat
- (c)The International Year of Rice
- (d)The International Year of Oil-seeds
Correct — A, The International Year of Millets. The UN General Assembly, acting on a proposal moved by India in 2021 and co-sponsored by over 70 countries, declared 2023 the 'International Year of Millets' to raise global awareness of millets' nutritional, ecological and climate-resilience benefits and to promote their sustainable production and consumption.
- (b)The International Year of Wheat — No 'International Year of Wheat' has been declared by the UN; wheat has no dedicated observance year.
- (c)The International Year of Rice — The UN designated 2004 — not 2023 — as the International Year of Rice; a different crop, a different year.
- (d)The International Year of Oil-seeds — There is no UN-designated 'International Year of Oil-seeds'; this option corresponds to no real UN observance.
The UN periodically designates 'International Years' via a General Assembly resolution to focus global attention on a theme. Millets were chosen for 2023 because they are climate-resilient, low-water, nutrient-dense coarse cereals well suited to arid and semi-arid farming — relevant to both food security and climate adaptation.
India, the world's largest millet producer, moved the original proposal; exam questions test both the 'which year got the UN designation' fact and India's role in proposing it.
- 2023 = UN International Year of Millets (IYM 2023), proposed by India
- India rebranded millets as 'Shree Anna' in the Union Budget 2023-24
- Millets are valued for being climate-resilient, low-water, nutrient-dense coarse cereals
- 2004 was the (separate) UN International Year of Rice — don't confuse the two
- Mixing up 2023 (Millets) with 2004 (Rice) as the UN-declared year
- Assuming the IYM 2023 proposal originated at the UN rather than being moved by India
MPPSC/UPSC typically ask 'UN declared the year ___ as ___' directly, or test current-affairs statements about who proposed IYM 2023 and India's Shree Anna initiative.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The proposal for observing 2023 as the International Year of Millets at the United Nations was originally moved by which country?
- (a)India
- (b)China
- (c)Brazil
- (d)Ethiopia
Answer(a) India — the proposal, backed by over 70 countries, was moved by India and adopted by the UN General Assembly.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In India, millets were officially rebranded as 'Shree Anna' in which policy announcement?
- (a)Union Budget 2023-24
- (b)National Food Security Act, 2013
- (c)Economic Survey 2020-21
- (d)National Agriculture Policy, 2000
Answer(a) Union Budget 2023-24 — which also announced a Centre of Excellence for millets at IIMR, Hyderabad.