India is working with innovations in food products owing to increasing interest in health benefits. Telangana Sona (RNR-15048) has emerged as a healthier alternative to other rice due to its low glycemic index and higher protein value.
The Agriculture Department of Telangana and Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) collaborated with the Indian School of Business (ISB) in July to work out strategies for branding and marketing of Telangana Sona rice. This new paddy variety is capable of providing several health benefits to consumers. Besides, it promises high yield potential and blast resistance to farmers. It grows in a short period of just 125 days as against 150 days of any other variety. Also, it is suitable for cultivation in both Kharif and Rabi season. Moreover, it has less broken rice percentage, which means less wastage, making it a better choice for millers too.
Telangana Sona Rice- Beneficial for Both Farmers and Consumers
Professor Madhu Viswanathan, ISB said that Telangana Sona would allow customers to make a healthy change in their diets. In a recent online discussion organized by ISB, Agriculture Secretary B.Janardhan Reddy highlighted the need to tap its export potential. This will make Sona rice accessible to consumers across the globe. Also, PJTSAU Vice-Chancellor Rao stated that PJTSAU adopted a multi-pronged approach involving innovation, research, and mapping to provide more value to the stakeholders. Madhu Viswanathan, Professor Marketing at ISB, mentioned the need strategies covering both health and taste attributes of the rice.
American Journal of Food and Nutrition backed Telangana Sona’s potential. Comparing it with Japonica rice, it stated it as better in terms of the glycemic index (GI) in the article published. It explained that regular consumption of this variety for more than three months could reduce glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in diabetic subjects. The paper was published by three officials of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). Researchers have attributed the low GI to the variations in the chemical nature of the starchy polysaccharides-amylose and amylopectin.
In all, the Telangana Sona rice variety promises health to consumers and profits to farmers.