Millets and the Nutrition of Tribal Women: A Nutrient-Substitution Model for Indigenous Food Systems

Anaemia affects 57.0% of non-pregnant Indian women aged 15–49, 64.6% of Scheduled Tribe women and 64.3% of women in Odisha. The post-Green Revolution displacement of millets by polished rice has been linked to a 21% net loss of dietary iron in rural India. This paper asks how far a return of millets to the plate can close the nutrient gaps of rural and tribal women, and what institutions must do to make that happen. A structured narrative review (with a documented search log) of 40 secondary sources (2009–2025) was combined with a deterministic and Monte Carlo (10,000 iterations) nutrient-substitution model, applying to non-pregnant, non-lactating women, using IFCT 2017 values and ICMR-NIN 2020 requirements to simulate replacing 0–50% of a 330 g/day rice intake with finger millet or a mixed-millet basket; sensitivity analyses tested intake-distribution assumptions, 10% pulse displacement and alternative MAR weightings. Half-ragi substitution raised cereal-derived iron from 2.1 to 8.7 mg/day (7% to 30% of RDA), calcium from 25 to 613 mg/day (2.5% to 61%) and zinc from 4.0 to 6.2 mg/day; the mean adequacy ratio doubled from 0.24 to 0.48 at a 5% energy cost, and a 10% pulse-displacement scenario reduced the iron gain by about one-eighth. A mixed-millet basket delivered the most iron and protein but less calcium. Meta-analyses confirm raised hemoglobin (SMD +0.68) and lower glycemic response. Odisha Millets Mission evidence shows procurement-linked PDS inclusion is feasible at scale, but processing drudgery falls disproportionately on women. Millets are necessary but not sufficient; benefits depend on substitution depth, crop diversity, bioavailability-improving processing, women's control over food and convergence with health services. Millet strategies should be treated as primary prevention within universal health coverage, not as a stand-alone agricultural scheme.