Pulses

Seeds of hope: Sowing of rabi crops gathers further steam, shows data

Rabi sowing has crossed 39.3 million hectares, with strong gains in pulses and oilseeds as farmers leverage good soil moisture, better seeds and stable MSP cues to diversify beyond wheat

Little incentive to grow pulses: Poorer economics versus competing crops

Rising imports, shrinking acreage, and low profitability show why another mission may struggle unless pulses farming becomes economically viable for growers

India to impose 30% import duty on yellow peas to support domestic prices

The move aims to curb cheap imports from Canada, Australia, and Russia that dragged mandi prices below MSPs, while stabilising chana and other pulses ahead of the rabi sowing season

Looking to raise output of pulses 40% by 2030-31 crop year: Chouhan

The six-year Rs 11,440-crore pulses mission aims to raise output to 35 million tonnes and boost productivity through assured MSP procurement and acreage expansion

Cabinet approves ₹11,440 cr mission to make India self-sufficient in pulses

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a six-year central scheme aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in pulses production, with a financial outlay of Rs 11,440 crore. The "Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses", approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be for the period from 2025-26 to 2030-31. The mission follows Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement in the 2025-26 Budget. The mission will particularly focus on increasing production of tur, urad and masur, with assured procurement by government agencies National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd (NCCF) from registered farmers. "We are going to start a mission on pulses for six years. Several initiatives will be taken under this," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. Under the mission, the government has set a target to increase pulses .

Cabinet approves 3% DA hike for government employees ahead of Diwali

The Cabinet approved 3 per cent DA hike from 55 per cent to 58 per cent, benefiting 4.92 million government employees and 6.87 million pensioners, starting July 1, 2025

Centre launches 'Aatmanirbharta in Pulses' mission with ₹11,440 cr outlay

The Centre has cleared a six-year ₹11,440 crore plan to raise pulses production to 35 million tonnes by 2030-31 with assured procurement and farmer support

Missions alone won't boost output of pulses and oilseeds, says Shivraj

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the rabi conference that India needs policy recalibration to raise pulses and oilseeds output, not just new Missions

Milk product intake rises as cereal, pulse consumption dips: Govt report

Intake of cereals and pulses came down in both rural and urban areas, while consumption of milk and its products showed an increase in 2023-24, according to a government report. The Household Consumption Expenditure Surveys (HCES) conducted during August 2022 July 2023 and August 2023 July 2024 showed that the consumption of egg, fish and meat has gone up in rural areas, though it remained the same in urban areas. The study showed the proportion of cereals in the consumption has decreased from 38.8 per cent in 2022-23 to 38.7 per cent in 2023-24 in urban areas. In the case of rural India, the proportion has decreased from 46.9 per cent to 45.9 per cent. For pulses, the proportion of consumption declined from 9.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent in urban areas and from 8.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent in rural areas. On the other hand, the proportion of milk and its products in the diet in urban areas increased from 12.8 per cent to 12.9 per cent, while in rural areas it rose from 10.6 per c

Pulses imports at nine-year high of 6.7 million tonnes in FY25, shows data

The biggest contributor to the surge in pulses imports has been the jump in yellow peas imports

Eco Survey calls for policy shift to cut cereal output, boost pulses, oils

The pre-budget document for the 2024-25 fiscal has suggested policy reforms to discourage overproduction of cereals while boosting output of pulses and edible oils, which the country currently imports to meet domestic shortages. The Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on Friday, stressed that India's agriculture sector has "significant untapped growth potential" despite various growth initiatives. Farmers must be allowed to receive unimpeded price signals from the market, with separate mechanisms to protect vulnerable households, it added. The document outlined three key policy shifts needed - establishing market mechanisms for price risk hedging, preventing excessive fertiliser use, and discouraging production of water and power-intensive crops that are already in surplus. "These policy shifts will help lift agricultural productivity in the economy by boosting land and labour productivity in the sector," the survey said. Agriculture sector growth averaged 5 per cent ...

Centre expands 'Bharat' brand to chana whole and masur dal in Phase II

The Bharat brand provides kitchen staples at subsidised rates. It was launched as a part of the govt's broader aim to make essential goods more affordable for middle-class consumers

Chana dal or yellow pea? The besan you buy may not be what you think

Cheaper yellow pea is being used in besan (gram flour) instead of chana dal, raising concerns over pricing and transparency in the market

Restaurant sector to turn around after tough Q1: Speciality Restaurants CMD

The restaurant industry is expected to turn around on the back of India's overall strong fundamentals after facing temporary headwinds such as high food inflation and people dining out less that hurt the sector in the first quarter, according to Speciality Restaurants Ltd CMD Anjanmoy Chatterjee. The company, which has a slew of brands such as Mainland China, Asia Kitchen by Mainland China, Episode One, Haka, and Sweet Bengal, among others and shut 29 outlets during the pandemic, is now focussing on profitable growth while expanding its footprint. "It should be clear that India not eating out or inflation not settling down is something which I don't believe in. India is better than many more countries...," Chatterjee told PTI. He was responding to a query on how long factors such as high food inflation and people dining out less after the diminishing of 'revenge eating' post pandemic that affected the restaurant industry, will continue to impact the sector. "It is a short-term ...

Arhar, maize, groundnut, soybean, sugarcane acreage top their normal levels

Easing maize supply woes would also benefit user industries like poultry feed, starch, and ethanol

India's import of pulses may fall up to 4.5 mn tn in FY25: IPGA chairman

India's import of pulses may decline to 40-45 lakh tonnes this fiscal from 47.38 lakh tonnes in the previous year, as a good monsoon is likely to result in higher domestic production and lower retail prices, industry body IPGA Chairman Bimal Kothari said on Friday. India Pulses & Grains Association (IPGA) also demanded that the government should frame a long-term policy for the Rs 2.5 lakh crore pulses market, as frequent changes in policies hurt the interest of all stakeholders. It also demanded imposition of import duties on yellow peas. "Pulses imports are likely to be 40-45 lakh tonnes this fiscal," Kothari told reporters at 'Bharat Dalhan Seminar 2024' being held here in the national capital. He said the imports would fall because of expectation of better production of pulses in 2024-25 crop year and also higher imports in the previous fiscal. Kothari said the country imported 16 lakh tonnes of masoor dal last fiscal. "We need only 10 lakh tonnes imports of masoor dal". He ..

Pulses import jumps 90% in FY24 to 4.7 mn tonnes to meet domestic demand

India's import of pulses rose 90 per cent annually to 47.38 lakh tonnes during 2023-24 to meet domestic demand, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. "All India production of pulses has increased from 163.23 lakh tonnes during 2015-16 to 244.93 lakh tonnes during 2023-24 (as per 3rd Advance Estimates)," the Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. In 2021-22, import of pulses stood at 26.99 lakh tonnes, while exports were at 3.87 lakh tonnes. During 2022-23, imports of pulses stood at 24.96 lakh tonnes, while exports were 7.62 lakh tonnes. In 2023-24, the imports of pulses were 47.38 lakh tonnes and exports stood at 5.94 lakh tonnes. "During the last ten years i.e. 2014-15 to 2023-24 (as per 3rd Advance Estimates), total pulses and oilseeds production has increased by 43 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively," Thakur said. In reply to a separate question, the minister said the government has substantially enhanced the b

Govt asks retailers to cut profit margins on pulses for relief to consumers

The government on Tuesday pointed out that retail prices of tur, urad and chana dals have not declined in proportion to about a 4 per cent fall in major wholesale markets in the past one month and asked retailers to charge reasonable profit margins for providing relief to consumers. The government warned that it would take stern actions against unscrupulous speculation and profiteering by market players. On Tuesday, the Department of Consumer Affairs organised a meeting with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) here to discuss the price scenario in respect of pulses. The meeting, chaired by Nidhi Khare, Secretary, the Department of Consumer Affairs, also reviewed compliance with the stock limits for tur and chana. The meeting was attended by representatives of RAI, Reliance Retail, D-Mart, Tata Stores, Spencer's, RSPG, and V-Mart, among others. RAI has more than 2,300 members, having over 6,00,000 retail outlets in the country. According to an official statement, the secretary

Pulses output rises by 35% to 3.25 million tonnes in Uttar Pradesh

India imports 15 per cent of its annual pulses consumption owing to a gap between domestic demand and supply, which translates into higher retail prices

Budget 2024: Govt likely to announce steps to enhance pulse production

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget in the Lok Sabha on July 23