India is all set to host the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi
As the national capital gears up to host world leaders at the G20 Summit under India's Presidency, many of the top hotels have been booked to welcome the delegates for the event.
One such is the Taj Hotel, where the preparations are in full swing. A special cuisine has been designed by the top hotel, which includes millet in various dishes.
"We are presenting both Indian and foreign components in food to the foreign delegation. As PM Modi told us to keep a focus on millets, we are including millets as an ingredient in many cuisines," says Chef Surendra Negi.
"We have kept both Indian as well as Western desserts as well," Negi added.
Meanwhile, another chef at the hotel told ANI, "An arrangement for 'Thaalis' has also been made for the guests who promote Indian cuisine and food..."
"Some items in the menu are also kept keeping in mind the international year of millets," he said, adding "We even have desserts made of millets like ragi laddoos and barley kheer."
With a plan to serve more than 500 dishes to the foreign delegates, which include Indian and other International dishes, there will also be the use of millet in many dishes. More than 120 chefs are working on the menu.
With high levels of minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc and other vital nutrients, Millets are a treasure trove of health benefits. Millet is a common term for categorizing small-seeded grasses that are often called Nutri-cereals.
India produces all the nine commonly known traditional millets viz. Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Finger Millet, Foxtail Millet, Proso Millet, Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Browntop Millet and Kodo Millet.
The government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi spearheaded the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution for declaring the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets and the proposal of India was supported by 72 countries.
India is all set to host the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 9-10. World leaders will arrive in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
A G20 Leaders' Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders' commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.
Muktesh Pardeshi, who is the Special Secretary and the head of operations and logistics of India's G20 secretariat, in an exclusive interview with ANI said that New Delhi is geared up with its preparations for the summit.
Speaking to ANI, Muktesh Pardeshi said, “We are days away from the event, an event we have been preparing from Day 1. We took over the presidency of G20 on December 1 last year, and since then we have been preparing for this mega event, the Leader's Summit…G20 comprises 19 countries and the European Union. Plus, we have given special invitations to nine more countries and some international organisations. There will be approximately 40 plus delegations that will arrive at the leader's level.”
“So, we will have Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and top officials of different delegations, representing different countries. We are gearing up, we are giving final shape to the programme,” he added.
The Special Secretary said that New Delhi has a twin agenda to showcase Indian culture, crafts and cuisine. He added that an experience panel has been created for delegates to experience how UPI payments are made, how the CoWin app was developed and how 1 billion people were connected with Aadhar.
He also informed that the catering at the Convention Centre is being done by the ITC and there is a lot of focus on cuisine, menu planning as well and service aspects.
“The catering at the Convention Centre is done by the ITC which is a leading hotel chain. They have created a large team comprising of shapes and other associates to not only have the menu ready but also the service experience impeccable. So there's a lot of focus on both the cuisine, the menu planning as well as the service aspect. And we have selected one of the best hotel chains for the purpose you want them to explore the street food of India,” he said.
Muktesh Pardeshi said that the G20 Summit will have three sessions and all these sessions will be held around the theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. He said that India will hand over the G20 Presidency to Brazil in the concluding session on December 10.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)