Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the launch of a six-year mission to boost the output of pulses to help achieve self-sufficiency, along with presenting the Union Budget 2025-26.
Pulses are the most common source of protein, especially for vegetarians. In 2024, pulses saw high inflations, reaching 18% of the retail levels by August. The Pulse Mission will focus on developing climate-resilient seeds, remuneration on prices for growers and post-harvest management and storage to cut down inflation. The year’s budget lays down other objectives which majorly are focused on three widely consumed varieties of pulses.
Objectives of The Scheme
The union agricultural minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is allotted the targets to end India’s dependence on imports of pulses to meet the domestic needs of India by 2029-30.
“Our government will now launch a six-year mission for Aatma Nirbharta in pulses with a special focus on tur (pigeon pea), urad (black gram) and masoor (yellow lentils)…central agencies will be ready to procure these three pulses, as much as offered during the next four years from farmers who register with these agencies and enter into agreements,” said finance minister Sitharaman while presenting the budget, eighth time in a row.
Union Budget 2025, the first budget in the third term of the Modi government, is still to make allocations for this scheme in the budget documents.
