PGI faculty bags Best Scientist award at National Nutri-Cereal Convention 4.0, Hyderabad
Dr Poonam Khanna, Associate professor (Nutrition), Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh won Best Scientist award at National Nutri-Cereal Convention 4.0, organized by Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad.The PoshakAnaaj Award 2022 was given by Shri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Hon’ble Agriculture Minister, Govt of Telangana, Ms Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, India, Dr Ashok Dalwai, IAS, CEO, NRAA, Director IIMR, Dr Arvind Kumar, DDG, ICRISAT andDr RK Singh, ADG, ICAR.She received this award for her outstanding contribution in promoting millets in communities and Anganwadis.
United Nations has declared year 2023 as “international year of millets”with an intention to increase public awareness on the health benefits of millets and their suitability for cultivation under tough conditions marked by climate change. As India’s focus moving from food security to nutrition security, the importance of bringing back millets to people’s diets is important from the nutrition perspective as well.To create awareness regarding nutrition, health and environmental benefits of millets, Dr Poonam Khanna is working tirelessly in communities of Punjab and Chandigarh. On 2nd September 2022, National Symposium on Millets was organized at MGSIPA, Sector 26 Chandigarh with the theme Millets for Soil Restoration and Healthy Food Accessibility to popularize and promote millets among academic and research communities. Currently under Poshan Maah,a number of awareness activities have been conducted alongwith Amma baba ki rasoiin which recipe demonstrations live and online are being conducted in different anganwadis across Chandigarh.
