Budget announcement: Why aatmanirbharta in pulses is a challenge

Express graphic: Ritesh Kumar

Significantly, this comes even as India’s pulses imports during April-November 2024 were valued at $3.28 billion, 56.6% higher than the $2.09 billion for the corresponding period of 2023. At this rate, imports for the 2024-25 fiscal year (April-March) could reach $5.9 billion, surpassing the previous all-time-high of $4.24 billion in 2016-17 (see chart).

Reversal of Aatmanirbharta

Between 2013-14 and 2016-17, India’s pulses imports rose both in value (from $1.83 billion to $4.24 billion) and quantity (from 31.78 lakh tonnes or lt to 66.09 lt) terms. Subsequently, they fell to 25.28 lt ($1.14 billion) in 2018-19, 28.98 lt ($1.44 billion) in 2019-20, 24.66 lt ($1.61 billion) in 2020-21, 27 lt ($2.23 billion) in 2021-22 and 24.96 lt ($1.94 billion) in 2022-23.

Express graphic: Ritesh Kumar

The accompanying table shows imports of all major pulses declining substantially after 2017-18. The five years from 2018-19 were marked by the country achieving relative aatmanirbharta and a significant drop in imports, especially of matar (yellow/white peas) and chana (chickpea).

However, there has been a reversal since. During 2023-24, a drought year, imports surged to 47.38 lt ($3.75 billion). Masoor shipments hit a record 16.76 lt, alongside a resurgence in that of matar. The current fiscal has already seen imports touch 40 lt, with tur/arhar crossing 10 lt for the first time and matar at a seven-year-high.

Simply put, the Narendra Modi government’s proposed new aatmanirbharta mission in pulses comes barely two years after India’s achieving of near-aatmanirbharta.

What’s new this time?

Domestic pulses production, as per the Agriculture Ministry’s data, increased from 192.55 lt in 2013-14 to 273.02 lt in 2021-22 and 260.58 lt in 2022-23.

This was mainly courtesy two crops: chana and moong (green gram). Chana output went up from 95.26 lt in 2013-14 to 135.44 lt in 2021-22 and 122.67 lt in 2022-23, while the rise was from 14.56 lt to 31.66 lt and 36.76 lt in the same years for moong. That, in turn, was enabled by the development of short-duration varieties.

Traditional chana varieties take 140-150 days to grow from seed to grain, while requiring 1-2 irrigations. The newer varieties can be harvested in 100-120 days, with farmers having to give a single irrigation at most. They can sow from end-September to mid-October, after harvesting of the kharif (post-monsoon) crop and using the residual moisture left by it in the soil.

The breeding breakthroughs have been even greater in moong, where farmers today take as many as four crops. The first one is during kharif, with sowing from end-June to mid-July and harvesting after mid-September. The second is during rabi (winter), with sowing in November-December. The third is grown in spring (February-March sowing) and the last one over summer (after April 1-20 sowing). The summer and rabi moong crops mature in 50-60 days, while it is slightly longer (65-75 days) for the kharif and spring varieties.

In moong, Indian scientists have bred varieties that are not just short-duration, but also photo-thermo insensitive: Being non-sensitive to temperature or photoperiod (the length of time in a 24-hour period that plants are exposed to light), they can practically be grown anytime and anywhere.

Breeding apart, the government has made some concerted effort at MSP procurement of both chana and moong. Such purchases amounted to 25.56 lt in 2022-23 and 23.53 lt in 2023-24 for the former, while 4.08 lt and 3.35 lt in the same years for the latter.

The Modi government probably wants to replicate the above success story and extend it to other pulses – namely tur/arhar, urad and masoor.

The challenge

That’s easier said than done – for two reasons.

To start with, there are growing limitations, particularly in tur/arhar, which was traditionally a 250-270 days crop yielding around 20 quintals per hectare. Breeders have brought the duration down to 150-180 days with 15-16 quintals/hectare yields, but that’s still comparatively long and low. As a result, tur/arhar cultivation is confined largely to the rainfed Marathwada-Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra and northern Karnataka, where farmers have fewer alternative cropping options.

Aatmanirbharta in tur/arhar would, perhaps, require development of hybrids maturing within 140-150 days, giving 18-20 quintals/hectare yields and also amenable to mechanical harvesting.

The second factor has to do with policy ambiguity. The Modi government wants farmers to expand pulses acreages and plant these nitrogen-fixing leguminous crops, instead of the more water-guzzling cereals or sugarcane. But tur/arhar is now wholesaling at an average of Rs 7,300-7,400 per quintal in Maharashtra’s Latur and Karnataka’s Kalaburgi markets, as against its MSP of Rs 7,550. Moreover, the Centre, on January 20, allowed duty-free imports of tur/arhar for an additional year up to March 31, 2026.

Imports of most other pulses – matar, masoor, urad and desi (small-sized) chana – are also attracting zero duty. Only imports of large kabuli chana are being permitted at 66% duty, while altogether restricted in the case of moong. Imports of tur/arhar are mostly from Mozambique, Tanzania, Myanmar, Sudan and Malawi; while from Canada, Russia and Turkey for matar; from Australia and Canada for masoor; from Australia and Tanzania for chana; and from Myanmar for urad.

With domestic production likely to rebound after the drought-induced dip to 242.46 lt in 2023-24 – and retail milled dal inflation, too, easing to 3.83% in December – the Modi government may have to take a call soon to restore import duties to levels that incentivise farmers to plant and achieve the goal of near-aatmanirbharta in pulses.