Govt moves proposal to procure pulses

With an aim to check spiralling prices of pulses, the government has moved a proposal for procurement and creating buffer stock of lentils, Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Balyan said today.
The Centre last month announced that it will create a buffer stock of lentils which will be offloaded in the market should prices firm up.
Speaking on the sidelines of 42nd foundation day of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, Balyan said the government would procure pulses to check prices and has already announced to create 40,000 tonne buffer stock of lentils this year.
"...A proposal has also been moved that pulses should be completely purchased by us (government). I hope it(proposal) will be approved and therefore in future there will be no crisis of pulses in the country," Balyan said.

The minister also added that there is huge requirement of pulses in the country and its production needs to be raised, therefore government should procure lentils.
The agriculture ministry has proposed that in the ongoing Kharif marketing season, which started last month, FCI will procure one lakh tonnes of tur and urad while Nafed and SFAC will buy 40,000 tonnes tur and 10,000 tonnes urad.

In the Rabi marketing season starting March next year, Nafed will buy one lakh tonnes of pulses while FCI and SFAC will procure 90,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes of these two lentils respectively.
Pulses production fell to 17.20 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year due to poor rains against 19.25 million tonnes in the previous year.

The country imported more than 4 million tonnes during the last fiscal and traders expect imports to cross 5 million tonnes this fiscal.