India eyes pulse self-sufficiency: Pulses are central to Indian diets, especially when fresh vegetables are scarce. They are also vital to farming systems as nitrogen-fixing crops. With rising demand and persistent shortfalls, the Union government has approved the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, a six-year programme (2025–31) with an outlay of ₹11,440 crore aimed at self-sufficiency. The mission proposes to expand pulses cultivation to 310 lakh hectares, backed by improved seeds, research, and assured procurement of tur, urad, and masoor at minimum support prices.
The scale is striking: distribution of 126 lakh quintals of certified seeds, 88 lakh seed kits, establishment of 1,000 processing units, and 100% procurement in participating states. Such central intervention is without precedent.
What the mission document underplays is the demand-side role of pulses in public nutrition. Programmes such as the public distribution system, PM-POSHAN (mid-day meals), and ICDS are major buyers. Ensuring steady supply of dals to these schemes is not just about food security, but also about addressing India’s protein gap and child malnutrition. Without aligning procurement to these channels, the policy risks becoming a stockpiling exercise.
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Import dependence and global risks
India is the world’s largest producer of pulses but imports 15–20% of its needs, largely from Canada, Myanmar, and Africa. Demand for protein-rich pulses is rising steadily, while global supply remains volatile. Imports leave India vulnerable to price shocks and foreign exchange outflows. From this angle, the mission is both strategic and timely.
Pulses are a politically sensitive crop because of their weight in food inflation. Sharp rises in tur or urad prices have triggered retail inflation spikes in the past. The mission’s procurement drive could help stabilise retail prices, but unless buffer stock release rules are transparent, there is the danger of either fuelling inflation or creating depressed farm-gate prices.
Food security vs market efficiency
Economists warn, however, against conflating food security with blanket import substitution. Comparative advantage dictates that some imports may still be efficient. A four-year promise of 100% procurement at MSP may reassure farmers but risks overproduction beyond market absorption. India has seen such cycles in wheat, rice, and sugar, where heavy procurement created stockpiles, storage losses, and depressed prices. Over-reliance on MSP also discourages crop diversification.
Self-sufficiency is not the only instrument. India has long used import duties, export bans, and bilateral agreements with Myanmar, Mozambique, and East African countries to manage supply. These tools will continue to matter. A blanket push for import substitution without flexibility in trade policy would leave India exposed if domestic harvests fail.
Structural bottlenecks in pulses
Unlike cereals, pulses face systemic challenges: low seed quality, poor credit access, weak logistics, and limited processing. Most pulse-growing regions are rainfed and lack irrigation. Even with procurement guarantees, moving and storing millions of tonnes will strain India’s warehousing and cold storage. The mission promises certified seeds and intercropping support, but farmer training and extension services are equally critical.
Pulses are largely rainfed crops. Climate stress—droughts, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures—already threatens yields. The mission speaks of seed kits, but it must also back short-duration, wilt-resistant, and heat-tolerant varieties, along with better extension services. The nitrogen-fixing properties of pulses also reduce fertiliser use, making them crucial for sustainable farming.
Balancing incentives and discipline
For the mission to work, farmer incentives must be aligned with market discipline. Insurance schemes can protect against crop risks without locking farmers into MSP-driven planting. A graded system of procurement—where MSP applies to a base quantity, with surplus linked to market demand—would discourage overproduction while offering income security.
If procurement is to be expanded, then the design of strategic reserves becomes critical. Who will hold the stock—NAFED, FCI, or state agencies—and how much will be released into the market? Poorly designed buffer stock operations in rice and wheat have encouraged rent-seeking and leakage. Unless pulses avoid this trap, the mission could replicate old mistakes.
Implementation will fall to states, but pulses are grown under very different agro-climatic conditions. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra dominate tur and urad production, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar play a role in moong. A one-size-fits-all procurement policy may not suit these variations. The mission’s success will depend on tailoring incentives to states’ cropping patterns.
Processing and value addition
The plan to establish 1,000 processing units, with subsidies up to ₹25 lakh, addresses post-harvest losses from pests and poor storage. But their success depends on integration into broader value chains, linking farmers, processors, and markets. Without this, the infrastructure may remain underutilised.
Building 1,000 processing units is a start, but the economics of dal milling remain weak because of outdated machinery and high wastage.
Unless quality standards, grading norms, and supply chains are modernised, processing units will not achieve scale. Integration with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and private trade is essential.
Pulse self-sufficiency and global prices
Pulses are deeply exposed to international price swings. A monitoring mechanism for global prices is envisaged, but insulating farmers while staying competitive in export markets will be difficult. If domestic prices are kept artificially high, exports will suffer. If procurement guarantees are withdrawn after four years, prices could collapse, hurting farmer confidence.
The fiscal arithmetic is equally concerning. While the outlay is modest on paper, hidden costs of procurement, storage, and subsidies can spiral. Past experience suggests taxpayers may end up funding unsold stocks even as cheaper imports remain available. Beyond MSP, farmer credit and insurance need strengthening. Access to timely crop loans, effective coverage under the PMFBY, and new instruments such as warehouse receipts and futures trading could reduce the reliance on government procurement. Without these, farmers may remain trapped in MSP dependency.
Finally, policymakers must weigh the opportunity cost of dedicating land and subsidies to pulses. A big push on pulses could come at the expense of oilseeds or coarse grains, where India faces even starker deficits. Agricultural policy cannot afford to pursue self-sufficiency across all fronts simultaneously.
The mission is ambitious and politically appealing. But India’s path to self-reliance in pulses must be pragmatic, not ideological.
The real challenge is not merely producing more, but producing efficiently, storing safely, and aligning supply with demand. Food security must be secured without compromising fiscal prudence or distorting markets. Only then can India hope to achieve genuine atmanirbharta in pulses.