India’s Pulses Self-Reliance Drive: Why Record Harvests Are Only the Beginning
India appears to be moving closer to a long-awaited milestone in agricultural production. The country’s pulse output is estimated to have reached a record 274.09 lakh tonnes in 2025–26, up 6.7% from the previous year. Imports have also declined. Yet record production alone does not make India self-reliant.
Lasting self-reliance requires farmers to receive productive seeds, scientific cultivation support, dependable procurement, timely payments and remunerative markets. It also requires domestic trade and import policies to work in harmony with production goals.
The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses has therefore arrived at an important moment. Its real test will not be whether India can produce one record harvest, but whether it can build a stable pulse economy capable of serving farmers, consumers and the country’s nutritional needs over the long term.
A ₹11,440-Crore Plan for the Pulse Economy
The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses was announced in the Union Budget 2025–26. The Union Cabinet approved it on 1 October 2025, and the programme was formally launched on 11 October 2025.
The mission will run for six years, from 2025–26 to 2030–31, with a total financial commitment of ₹11,440 crore. While it supports the broader pulse sector, special attention has been given to tur or arhar, urad and masoor, three crops in which domestic shortages have frequently resulted in sizeable imports.
By 2030–31, the mission intends to raise national pulse production to 350 lakh tonnes, increase cultivation to 310 lakh hectares and improve average productivity to 1,130 kg per hectare. It also proposes bringing another 35 lakh hectares under pulses.
The programme aims to distribute 126 lakh quintals of certified seed and approximately 88 lakh free seed kits. Around 1,000 pulse-processing and packaging units are proposed, with eligible units receiving assistance of 33% of project cost, subject to a maximum of ₹25 lakh.
Nearly two crore farmers are expected to benefit from the mission. These are ambitious commitments, and their effectiveness will depend heavily on implementation at the state, district and farm levels. The detailed framework is available in the Union Cabinet’s mission announcement.
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| India’s Pulses Self-Reliance Drive: Why Record Harvests Are Only the Beginning |
Why Pulses Matter Beyond Agricultural Production
For millions of Indian households, pulses are not simply another agricultural commodity. They are among the most accessible sources of dietary protein, especially for vegetarian families and lower-income consumers.
Most pulses contain approximately 20–25% protein. They also provide fibre, minerals and micronutrients. The mission backgrounder refers to a recommended pulse intake of 85 grams per person per day. However, the Economic Survey reported net availability of only 47.1 grams per person per day in 2022–23.
Net availability and actual household consumption are different measures, but the comparison highlights the continuing nutrition challenge. Increasing pulse availability at affordable prices is therefore important for both food security and public health. The historical availability series can be reviewed in the Economic Survey statistical tables.
Pulses are equally important to agricultural sustainability. They require less water than many competing crops, can be cultivated in rain-fed regions and improve soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation. Their inclusion in crop rotations can reduce dependence on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and improve the productivity of succeeding crops.
Production Is Rising, but Imports Remain Substantial
India produced 256.83 lakh tonnes of pulses in 2024–25. The third advance estimate for 2025–26 placed production at 274.09 lakh tonnes, representing an increase of 17.26 lakh tonnes.
This improvement helped reduce pulse imports from 72.56 lakh tonnes in 2024–25 to 59.64 lakh tonnes in 2025–26—a decline of approximately 17.8%. Nevertheless, importing nearly 60 lakh tonnes in a record-production year demonstrates that the domestic supply-demand gap remains significant.
During 2025–26, India also exported approximately 10.01 lakh tonnes of pulses valued at US$969.53 million, according to APEDA trade data. The combination of domestic production, imports, exports and changes in stocks underlines the complexity of India’s pulse balance.
The latest production and import figures are detailed in the government’s pulse-mission progress assessment.
What Has the Mission Delivered in Its First Year?
The first year of implementation has created a measurable foundation. During 2025–26:
Technology demonstrations covered 4.79 lakh hectares.
Approximately 4.33 lakh quintals of quality seed were produced.
Certified seed distribution reached 3.10 lakh quintals.
Farmers received around 9.25 lakh free seed kits.
National pulse productivity reportedly increased from approximately 926 kg per hectare in 2024–25 to 957 kg per hectare in 2025–26.
The improvement is encouraging, but productivity must rise by another 173 kg per hectare—or approximately 18%—to reach the mission target of 1,130 kg per hectare.
Crop-wise production in 2025–26 was estimated at 125.14 lakh tonnes for gram, 44.92 lakh tonnes for moong, 35.92 lakh tonnes for tur and 17.62 lakh tonnes for masoor.
Government pulse stocks stood at approximately 43 lakh tonnes in May 2026. Procurement included more than 5.34 lakh tonnes of tur and 20.35 lakh tonnes of gram. These stocks can support market intervention and consumer-price management, but procurement must reach farmers in a timely and geographically balanced manner. The figures are presented in the government’s availability and price assessment.
Kharif Sowing Shows Why the Target Will Be Difficult
The latest acreage figures offer a note of caution. As of 14 August 2026, kharif pulses had been planted across 108.14 lakh hectares, compared with 108.49 lakh hectares during the corresponding period of 2025.
The overall reduction of 0.35 lakh hectares is relatively small. However, the crop-level trend deserves attention. Urad acreage increased, while tur and moong remained under pressure.
This suggests that higher production cannot be taken for granted. Farmers make planting decisions based on rainfall, expected prices, competing crops, input availability, pest risks and their experience of previous procurement seasons. The latest sowing position is available in the government’s kharif acreage report.
MSPs Must Be Supported by Effective Procurement
For the 2026–27 marketing seasons, the announced Minimum Support Prices are:
| Pulse | MSP per quintal |
|---|---|
| Tur/Arhar | ₹8,450 |
| Moong | ₹8,780 |
| Urad | ₹8,200 |
| Gram | ₹5,875 |
| Masoor | ₹7,000 |
Sources: Kharif MSP 2026–27 and Rabi MSP 2026–27.
NAFED and NCCF are responsible for procuring tur, urad and masoor from pre-registered farmers under PM-AASHA. However, an announced MSP becomes economically meaningful only when farmers have access to registration facilities, procurement centres, transparent quality testing and prompt payment.
On 22 August 2026, all-India average wholesale prices for processed dal ranged from ₹7,944 per quintal for gram dal to ₹11,358 for tur dal. Wholesale dal prices should not be directly compared with MSP because processed dal includes milling recovery, transportation, packaging, quality differences and trade margins. Current prices are available through the Department of Consumer Affairs Price Monitoring System.
Will Pulse Cultivation Become More Profitable?
Pulses can be commercially attractive in areas where water is limited or where farmers can integrate them into existing crop rotations. Rice fallows, intercropping systems and rain-fed regions offer significant expansion opportunities.
However, cultivation economics depend on more than MSP. Farmers must consider yield risk, seed cost, pest management, harvesting expenses, market prices and the probability of government procurement.
If productivity remains low, even a favourable price may not generate adequate returns. Conversely, a sharp increase in production without sufficient procurement, storage or processing demand can depress market prices.
The mission must therefore coordinate production expansion with buffer stocking, private processing, institutional consumption, market development and a predictable import policy. Import decisions taken close to the domestic harvest can influence mandi prices and weaken farmers’ confidence in pulse cultivation.
Science, Seeds and Processing Will Determine the Outcome
In February 2026, a National Consultation and Strategy Meeting was organised at ICAR’s Food Legume Research Platform in Sehore. The Pulses Mission Portal was introduced during the meeting. The National Kharif Conference in May 2026 also called for state-specific pulse strategies and greater adoption of short-duration varieties.
ICAR’s completion of a telomere-to-telomere reference genome for the pigeonpea variety ‘Asha’ is another important development. This scientific resource could accelerate breeding for higher yield, climate resilience, disease resistance and nutritional quality. Details are available in the ICAR pigeonpea genome announcement.
Research breakthroughs, however, create value only when improved varieties move rapidly from laboratories to seed-production systems and farmers’ fields. ICAR institutes, agricultural universities, state seed corporations, private seed companies and FPOs must work together to shorten this delivery cycle.
The proposed processing and packaging units can also create decentralised demand while reducing post-harvest losses. Investments in cleaning, grading, storage, dal milling, packaging and traceability can generate rural employment and help farmers capture a greater share of value addition.
Is the 350-Lakh-Tonne Target Achievable?
India must add nearly 76 lakh tonnes to the 2025–26 production estimate to reach 350 lakh tonnes by 2030–31. The goal is achievable, but acreage expansion alone will not be sufficient.
Success will require:
District-level production strategies for low-productivity regions.
Faster delivery of climate-resilient and short-duration varieties.
Expansion in rice fallows and suitable intercropping systems.
Improved irrigation and moisture-conservation practices.
Wider and more reliable MSP procurement.
Timely farmer registration and payment.
Investment in storage, processing and packaging infrastructure.
Stable and transparent pulse-import policies.
Long-term procurement partnerships between FPOs and processors.
Better market intelligence for farmers and state agencies.
Self-reliance does not necessarily require India to eliminate every pulse import. Trade can remain a strategic instrument for managing unusual shortages or crop failures. The objective should be to ensure that domestic production can meet normal demand without exposing consumers or farmers to recurring market instability.
India has demonstrated that it can increase pulse production. The next challenge is to convert that production into a dependable economic system. If research, seed delivery, procurement, processing, trade policy and remunerative markets move together, the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses can strengthen nutrition, farmer incomes, soil health and India’s agricultural trade balance for many years.
Alternative Headlines
India’s ₹11,440-Crore Pulses Mission: From Record Production to Market Security
Can India Close Its Pulses Import Gap by 2030–31?
More Pulses, Fewer Imports: Inside India’s Self-Reliance Strategy
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