<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;">Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has said that plant-based foods are important to meet future needs and will create job opportunities in the agriculture sector. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Addressing a conference organized on the topic "Dawn of a Plant-Based Age" during the 'Aahaar' exhibition at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, the Minister said in view of the challenges that agriculture is facing, a plant-based alternative diet is an important step and it will also give strength to the sector. </p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Talking about food security, he said there is a need to think from now on how much food India will need till the year 2050 and how much global demand will increase. Mr. Tomar said that along with food security, it is the need of the hour to prepare alternatives from the point of view of nutrition. He added that on the initiative of Prime Minister Modi, the United Nations has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The Minister said under the leadership of Prime Minister  Narendra Modi, the government is rapidly engaged in fulfilling the ambitious target of making India a Developed nation by the year 2047.</span></p>