The Management Committee of Price Stabilization Fund, chaired by Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande at its meeting has discussed in detail the pulses issue and has decided to import 7,500 tonnes of chana and masoor dal in the coming days in order to boost domestic supply and curb prices. The committee decided to tender import of 5,000 tonnes of chana and 2,500 tonnes of masoor.
In the meeting, the government has also decided to allocate pulses from its buffer stock to Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar for retail distribution at a subsidized rate of Rs 120 per kg. The pulses, especially tur and urad, are allocated to these states at Rs 66 per kg so that they can retail further at not more than Rs 120 per kg.
The output of pulses is estimated to be lower at 17.06 million tonnes in 2015-16 crop year (July-June) as against the annual demand of 23.5 million tonnes. The gap is being met through imports.