Governance
Government to Launch Mahua-based Alcoholic Drink
- 11 Mar 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
The central government is set to launch a mahua-based alcoholic beverage ‘Mahua Nutribeverage’ in the market for the first time.
- The Beverage will come in six fruit-based flavours and will be available at the price of ₹700 for a 750ml bottle.
- This is the first time that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is getting into bottling and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Key Points
- The beverage has a high nutritional value and relatively low alcohol content (5%).
- It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in collaboration with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
- TRIFED is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- TRIFED has signed a memorandum with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to undertake the assignment of technology transfer to the suitable entrepreneurs for production and marketing of the beverage.
- The marketing is being undertaken under the Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram.
- It is Tribal Affairs Ministry’s value-addition scheme which was launched in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur in 2018.
- The nation-wide programme earmarked ₹500-600 crore for training tribal clusters to add value to their produce and sell it in a packaged format, aiming to increase their income manifold.
- The products marketed under the scheme include only those that need primary-level processing, including handicrafts, textiles, food items, jams and pulps and jewellery.
- Besides mahua, other tribal staples such as tamarind and amla will be de-seeded and brought to the market in the form of candies and jams.
Mahua
- Its scientific name is Madhuca indica.
- It is a prominent forest tree in tribal areas of Bastar (Chhattisgarh) and plays an important role in the rural economy.
- The mahua flowers are a rich source of sugars and are said to contain vitamins, minerals and calcium.
- The flowers are fermented and distilled yielding spirituous liquor also known as ‘country beer’.
- An estimated 90% of the annual production of Mahua flower is used in the process of brewing beverages.
