India’s pulses policy sits at the uneasy intersection of food security, farmer welfare and trade diplomacy. For years, the government has managed a structural shortfall in pulses through a blend of imports, price stabilisation and limited procurement at the minimum support price (MSP). Of these, imports are the most politically sensitive. A single decision in New Delhi can cool retail prices when supplies tighten. But it can also depress farm-gate prices and leave growers exposed.
That is why reports that a trade deal with the United States might oblige India to buy American pulses struck a raw nerve. Since the farm law protests of 2020-21, any hint that farmers’ interests are being traded away is combustible. Pulses are not a marginal crop. Output has hovered around 2.5 crore tonnes against demand of about three crore tonnes, with imports bridging the gap. They provide roughly a quarter of non-cereal protein intake and sustain five crore farmers and their families.
Yet pulse growers lack the assurance rice and wheat farmers enjoy. Procurement under the Price Support Scheme has ranged between 2.9% and 12.4% of production in recent years. In many States, procurement centres are sparse, forcing farmers to sell below MSP to private traders. Rain-fed cultivation, low yields and weak market support discourage investment. The result is a vicious cycle of low productivity and continued import dependence.
The government’s new self-sufficiency Mission, with an outlay of ₹11,440 crore and ambitious production targets by 2030-31, seeks to break that cycle. But farmers remain wary. Opening the market further to American pulses would undercut prices and contradict the Mission’s stated aims.
If India is serious about pulse self-reliance, it must look beyond trade optics. Strengthening procurement, guaranteeing MSP in practice, investing in rain-fed productivity and rewarding pulse cultivation are essential. Without such structural reform, India will remain dependent on imports — and every trade negotiation will carry political risk at home.
