Basavaraj Gali 1 and Pingali Parthasarathy Rao 1 ( 1 ) ICRISAT , Patancheru , Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh , India

Rice, wheat, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet are the major cereal staples of Indian households but sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet are only consumed in the regions in which they are cultivated. Sorghum is the staple of central and western regions of Maharashtra and the northern regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and pearl millet is mainly consumed in the western states of India i.e. Gujarat and Rajasthan. Similarly, although wheat is consumed all over India, it is the main staple in the northern parts of India such as Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Over the past decade, research studies that have analyzed household consumption data collected by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) have reported a long term historical decline in per capita consumption of all cereals and particularly nutritious cereals (Meenakshi 1996, Kumar P 1998, Hamumantha Rao 2000, Radha Krishna 2005, Mittal 2006). This is partially attributed to a shift in dietary patterns of consumption from cereals to a more balanced diet that includes livestock products, fruit and vegetables (Chand 2007) – a change driven by income growth and urbanization.