India Soon to Become Self-Sufficient in Pulses Production: Tomar

We Indians embrace different varieties of pulses as they are an indispensable part of an Indian palate. Maybe that's the reason India is the world's largest importer of pulses. But having self-sufficiency in production of pulses is important for the economy in many ways. In this line, the government of India is moving towards becoming self-sufficient in pulses. India is on the track to become self-sufficient in the production of pulses and will further improve the output to meet global demand, said Narendra Singh Tomar, Agriculture Minister. 

Agriculture Minister on Monday said that the government has taken measures including a hike in the minimum support price and procurement of pulses to encourage farmers. As per reports, the production of pulses during the 2019-19 crop year had been 23.40 million tonnes, which was short of annual domestic demand by 3-4 million tonnes. Such a gap requires to be met through imports. To bridge this gap, the government has set a mark of 26.30 million tonnes of pulses output. 

On the occasion of World Pulses Day 2020, Narendra Singh Tomar addressed the audience at an event. Speaking at the event, Tomar says," Pulses are becoming necessary not only in India but also in other countries. We faced a huge shortage of pulses earlier but the situation has now improved." 

The Research and Development (R&D) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has helped gain a substantial increase in pulses output in the last few years, told Tomar. "As of now, the maximum of the domestic requirement is being met in India Itself. We will further boost pulses production and will also help in meeting the global demand."