India’s rapidly evolving agriculture product based market is opening a wide spectrum of plant based business opportunities. This market is constituted of many categories which include food items, nutraceuticals, personal care products, textiles, packaging products and bio-based materials. Among all these products the plant based processed food items segment is showing a higher rate of market growth. The demand is being shaped by urbanization, health consciousness, climate and sustainability goals. This article studies the high-potential segments, market trends and drivers, along with opportunities and challenges for founders and investors in this area of plant based processed foods.

Environment presents various kinds of stress to the growing plants and plays an important role in determining the productivity specially in case of food crops. Amongst these stresses, biotic stress is the one which has got prominent role in deciding the productivity of a crop in a season. Biotic stress poses a serious threat to the crop productivity which enhances the use of insecticide and pesticide on the crops. Millets provides an ideal gene pool for its resistance against various diseases caused from the pathogens. This makes them the first choice amongst the farmers for their plantations and cultivations at various altitudes in different seasons. This review comprehensively provides an insight into the disease resistance in millets and various mechanisms and aspects associated with it.

Religion and cultural traditions are integral parts of humanity. These practises have a significant impact on human lifestyles and the health of the community. Fasting is an important aspect of religio-cultural practise that is found in varying forms across the world. In India, religions of their origin also advocate ritual fasting as a part of the expression of their faith in the god. Fasting is the voluntary reduction of all or some types of foods, drinks, or both for a certain period of time. It is practised by people of all religions. Fasting is proven beneficial for human health as it gives the digestive tract a break from regular meal consumption. There are several ways to fast, including whole-day fasts, time-restricted feeding, and alternate-day fasting. There are various millets, such as Amaranthus paniculatus, Celastrus paniculatus, Echinochloa frumentacea, Euryale ferox, and Fagopyrum esculantum. The grains of these pseudocereals are used as food during fasting. In addition to this, starch obtained from Cycas revoluta, commonly known as sabudana, flour obtained from dry fruits of Trapa natans, and dry rhizomes of Maranta arundinacea plants are used during fasting. The food products prepared during the fasting periods are very good sources of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and dietary fiber and contain various types of minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus, which are essential for human health. The food products prepared from these pseudo cereals are gluten-free and good for human health too; therefore, these foods are also included in the traditional dietary system. The objective of this review paper is to provide complete and updated information for the researchers about the major plants, their products, their nutritive values, and their impact on human health that are used during fasting times during various festivals, with special emphasis in Rajasthan (India).