Government to Launch Mahua-based Alcoholic Drink | 11 Mar 2020

The central government is set to launch a mahua-based alcoholic beverage ‘Mahua Nutribeverage’ in the market for the first time.

The Beverage will come in six fruit-based flavours and will be available at the price of ₹700 for a 750ml bottle.
This is the first time that the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is getting into bottling and sale of alcoholic beverages.

The beverage has a high nutritional value and relatively low alcohol content (5%).
It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in collaboration with the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
- TRIFED is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
TRIFED has signed a memorandum with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to undertake the assignment of technology transfer to the suitable entrepreneurs for production and marketing of the beverage.
The marketing is being undertaken under the Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram.
- It is Tribal Affairs Ministry’s value-addition scheme which was launched in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur in 2018.
- The nation-wide programme earmarked ₹500-600 crore for training tribal clusters to add value to their produce and sell it in a packaged format, aiming to increase their income manifold.
- The products marketed under the scheme include only those that need primary-level processing, including handicrafts, textiles, food items, jams and pulps and jewellery.
Besides mahua, other tribal staples such as tamarind and amla will be de-seeded and brought to the market in the form of candies and jams.

Its scientific name is Madhuca indica.
It is a prominent forest tree in tribal areas of Bastar (Chhattisgarh) and plays an important role in the rural economy.
The mahua flowers are a rich source of sugars and are said to contain vitamins, minerals and calcium.
The flowers are fermented and distilled yielding spirituous liquor also known as ‘country beer’.
An estimated 90% of the annual production of Mahua flower is used in the process of brewing beverages.