Pulses are secular unlike cows, says BJP leader

Pulses are secular unlike cows, BJP general national secretary Muralidhar Rao today said batting for self-sufficiency in production of lentils to ensure protein security and check prices.
"When we talk about cows, it is politicised as communal. Today, we are discussing on an important subject i.E pulses. Unlike cows, pulses are secular... I hope it will not be given a communal colour," Rao said speaking at an event on pulses organised by Bharat Niti, a public policy forum.
The country has a majority of vegetarians, and their main source of protein comes from pulses. So, there is a need to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses output for achieving protein security and curb price rise, he said.

The domestic output, which is stagnant at around 18 million tonnes, needs to be enhanced to reduce the country's dependency on imports, he said, adding that India's pulses imports were valued at USD 2.79 billion in 2014-15 fiscal.
Blaming previous governments for their "strategic neglect" on pulses, Rao asserted that the Modi-led government will not neglect this area.
The BJP leader also noted that the availability of pulses was lower at 6.7 kg for poor who spend 90 per cent of their income on food as against 20 kg for high-income people who spend only 5-6 per cent of their income on food," he added.

Rejecting Opposition charges that government did not

import pulses in time to check prices, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said, "The issue is not when the government imported or not. Pulses imports are kept open. There are no curbs. Any one can import."
The country imported 4.59 million tonnes in 2014-15 fiscal despite fall in global output, as against 3.18 million tonnes in previous year, he said.
Outlining reasons for fall in pulses output, Singh said, "Unlike cotton, pulses output has not risen due to lack of high-yield varieties, inadequate irrigation and price, besides absence of procurement system."
However, the government has already started working on addressing these problem areas and has allocated 50 per cent of the funds under the central scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana for promoting pulses cultivation, he said.

The government is promoting inter-cropping of pulses and oilseeds and also encouraging farmers in the eastern region to grow pulses immediately after harvesting paddy. Even in the ongoing rabi season, more funds have been allocated to state governments for enhancing pulses output, he said.
Due to poor rains, pulses output in 2014-15 crop year (July-June) fell by 2 million tonnes, which created shortages and rise in prices this year, he added.
On farm growth, the Minister said unline other sectors, the growth in agriculture may not be visible immediately.
But the impact of several schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yoiana (PMKSY), soil health card scheme, Price Stabilisation Fund, National Agriculture Market -- will seen in the coming years, he added.