Proceedings of the 8th World Conference on Qualitative Research

India is a leading country in millets cultivation and production in the world. Once millets were mainstream crops grown nationally. But, in due course, millets have lost out to other crops in the overall scheme of cultivation as a result of biased government policies, and their intrinsic problems. In the recent past, there is a realization among the policy makers and farmers about their dietary value and ability to withstand the uncertainty of climate change. As a result of change in perception, the government of India has introduced a set of policy measures to resurrect cultivation of millets as primary crops, and enable mainstreaming of them. It took the initiative to observe International Millets Year 2023 in conjunction with United Nations Organization with intention of spreading awareness about benefits of millets cultivation and consumption. The aim of the paper is to analyze context, text and consequences of millets policy by using a qualitative method of policy document analysis. The qualitative research conducted revealed that millets policy pursued by the government of India is transitory in nature and not adequate enough to resurrect the fortunes of millets and promote their development. It unlikely to help the government to accomplish the aim of mainstreaming millets again. Hence, it becomes imperative to develop a comprehensive policy framework covering all millets and their specialties, which would create enabling environment to undertake the cultivation of millets and tap their social and economic potential.