India's Pulses Import Surge: Agricultural Developments and Policies

India's pulses import rose by 90% in 2023-24, reaching 47.38 lakh tonnes to satisfy domestic demand. Despite this, production has substantially increased over the years. Additionally, the government has significantly increased the Ministry of Agriculture's budget to further support farmers, including schemes like PM-KISAN for financial aid.

The import of pulses in India soared by 90 percent annually to 47.38 lakh tonnes during 2023-24, as the government disclosed in Parliament on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur highlighted that India's production of pulses has climbed from 163.23 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 244.93 lakh tonnes in 2023-24, according to the 3rd Advance Estimates.

In prior years, import figures were significantly lower, with 26.99 lakh tonnes imported in 2021-22 and 24.96 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. The corresponding export figures were 3.87 lakh tonnes and 7.62 lakh tonnes, respectively.

Thakur emphasized a 43 percent increase in pulses production and a 44 percent rise in oilseeds production over the last decade. The financial backing for agriculture is also noteworthy, with the budget expanding from Rs 27,662.67 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1,25,035.79 crore in 2023-24.

Thakur responded to queries on policies such as the Minimum Support Price (MSP) recommendation by the National Commission on Farmers in 2004, which suggested MSPs be at least 50% above the production cost—a policy implemented in the 2018-19 Union Budget.

Further addressing questions, Thakur discussed the PM-KISAN scheme, a central initiative launched in 2019. It offers Rs 6,000 annually to land-holding farmers via Direct Benefit Transfer, having disbursed over Rs 3.24 lakh crore to more than 11 crore farmers. There is currently no proposal to increase this financial benefit.