Union Minister Piyush Goyal launches National Turmeric Board with Palle Ganga Reddy as chairman

In January 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry(MoC&I),  launched the National Turmeric Board (NTB) in New Delhi, Delhi with an aim to boost the turmeric industry(Golden Spice) in India.

• Palle Ganga Reddy has been appointed as its first Chairperson. The headquarters of the Board has been set up at Nizamabad, Telangana.
• Union Minister of State(MoS) Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) and Arvind Dharmapuri, Member of Parliament(MP), Nizamabad also participated in the event.

About National Turmeric Board (NTB):

i.The NTB will function under theDepartment of Commerce(DoC), MoC&I. The board will include representatives from Ministry of  AYUSH(Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy); Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (MoCF), Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers(MoC&F); Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare(DA&FW) under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare(MoA&FW) and Department of Commerce, MoC&I.

• Moreover, representatives from the top turmeric growing states of Maharashtra, Telangana and Meghalaya will also be part of the Board.

ii.The board will look into the challenges faced by turmeric farmers across 20 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu(TN), Andhra Pradesh(AP), Telangana, Madhya Pradesh(MP) and Meghalaya.

iii.It will provide leadership, coordinate with other Government Departments/Agencies for the growth and development of the Turmeric sector in the country.

• It will work on increasing trade of turmeric and its products, especially in view of its health and wellness benefits.

iv.Moreover, the new Board will promote research and development of new turmeric products, add value to the export related turmeric products and create awareness on the essential and medical properties of turmeric.

• It will also help in increasing its yield and boost logistics and supply chain to promote trade into newer markets and will also ensure quality and safety standards of turmeric production and exports.

Points to Note:

i.According to the Spice Board of India, an area of 3.05 lakh hectare was under turmeric cultivation in India in 2023-24 with a production of 10.74 lakh tons.

• During 2023-24, 1.62 lakh tons of turmeric and turmeric products valued at USD 226.5 million were exported.

ii.There are 30 varieties of turmeric produced with India being the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world and has more than 62% share of world trade.

iii.The top turmeric-producing states in India are Maharashtra (325643 tonnes), Telangana ( 117049 tonnes) and Karnataka ( 129399 tonnes).

iv.The top buyers of Indian turmeric in 2023-24 are Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia.

About Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I):
Union Minister – Piyush Goyal (Constituency – Mumbai North, Maharashtra)
Minister of State (MoS) – Jitin Prasada (Constituency – Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, UP)