More Stories

Informist, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025

 

--Source: Farm min may seek Cabinet nod for pulses mission before Mar end

--CONTEXT: Govt announced pulses mission in FY26 Budget presented Sat

 

By Pallavi Singhal

 

NEW DELHI - The agriculture ministry is set to seek before March end Cabinet's approval for the pulses mission, which boasts a total budget of INR 10 billion, according to a senior government official. This initiative was announced during the presentation of the Union Budget for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) in Parliament on Saturday.

 

"The ministry wants the mission to be launched by Mar. 31 this year so we can begin procurement within this season itself. We will be seeking Cabinet nod for the same very soon," the official said. 

 

According to the announcements in the Budget, the mission for self-reliance in pulses will work on minimum support price-based procurement of three specific pulses--tur, masur, and urad. The procurement will take place through National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India for all farmers who register with these agencies and enter into agreements, according to the Budget statement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 

 

The mission comes at a time when India's pulses imports have been rapidly rising. During Apr-Nov, these imports rose over 56% compared to the corresponding period of 2023, and were valued at $3.28 billion. Trade estimates the total value of imports for FY25 to be as high as $6 billion. 

 

Tur has been the most contentious pulse crop for the government over the past two years, driving pulses and food inflation and posing a significant challenge for policymakers. The government's Economic Survey for FY25 pointed out that tur significantly contributed to food inflation, with deficient production leading to price pressures in tur dal, thereby impacting the overall Consumer Price Index. "In addition to tomato and onion, tur dal also contributed to food inflation in India. The deficient production of tur in 2022-23 and 2023-24 has indeed led to high price pressures in tur dal during FY24 and FY25 (Apr-Dec)," the survey said.

 

However, as the domestic winter crop started coming to the market in January along with the government allowing duty-free imports of the commodity for an additional year up to Mar. 31, 2026, the prices have fallen below the MSP, with the commodity's wholesale price at an average INR 7,000-7,300 per quintal in Maharashtra's Latur market, as against its MSP of INR 7,550. Imports of other pulses including masur, urad, and desi chana are also attracting zero duty.  End

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.