“A public policy expert notes how ‘healthy laddoos’ are filling the nutrition gap for the rural poor”

Key points

• Author recalls fieldwork in Wardha, Maharashtra, starting at 6 am in 2007.
• Describes farmers' market in Namakkal with millet-based laddoos and herbal products.
• Millets like ragi featured in laddoos; 2010 context predated widespread startup culture.
• Notes interlinked nutrition programs: paushtik laddoos in anganwadis and ICDS projects.
• Highlights marketing challenges for rural products and evolving millet appreciation globally.