Traders urge govt to club pulses with Food Security Act

Under Food Security Act, around 67% population would get insured foodgrains at discounted rate

Pulses traders have urged the government to incorporate pulses in the Food Security Act for its supply through the public distribution system (PDS).

“Rice and wheat cannot go without pulses. Once you talk about grains distribution through PDS and that to make nutritious foodgrains available for over two-third of India’s population, pulses must be distributed at discounted rate price along with rice and wheat so that the poor would get a complete nutrition,” said Pravin Dongre, president of the pulses traders body the Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA).

The Lok Sabha passed the Food Security Act on Monday with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) advocates its early clearances in the Rajya Sabha as well.

This will make the Food Security Act as a low under which around 67% of India’s population would get insured foodgrains supply at a discounted rate.

“While the Bill is already passed, the government can directly include pulses at the time of its implementation. We want the government to procure at least half a million tonnes of pulses to distribute with the PDS along with rice and wheat,” said Dongre.

Clubbing of pulses with the Food Security Act will increase its demand resulting into an appreciation in its prices. Pulses are quoted at around 25% lower than the minimum support price announced by the government, sufficient to discourage farmers to opt for better remunerative crops. But, since pulses are grown in small and marginal land, the area under this crop cannot be shifted so easily.

“India currently imports between 2.5-3 million tonnes of pulses to meets its annual requirement of 22.5 million tonnes. Government’s encouragement through a very small step would be helpful to make India a self sufficient in pulses,” said Vimal Kothari, owner, Pancham International, a Mumbai-based pulses trader.

Meanwhile, Kris Gopalakrishnan, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) commended the government’s initiative towards ensuring foodgrains supply to a majority of people.

Commenting on the passage of Food Security Act, Gopalakrishnan, said “In a country like India, food security is extremely important. With a significant section of the population living below the poverty line, government intervention to provide nutritious food is essential”.

CII President said, “However, there are concerns. Such a large outlay at this point in time would definitely have a negative impact on the fiscal deficit. This needs to be managed. The larger concern is regarding the effective implementation of such a high profile and critical social agenda of the Government”.

The use of PDS raises questions about the efficacy of the model. Targeting is another area that would need special attention. CII hopes that appropriate focus would be given to these aspects - mainly that of targeting so that the needy can benefit from this programme, he added.