Pulses' production to be tad higher than last year

The production of pulses in the country is expected to be only tad higher than last year, as per information provided by Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. The minister added that addressing the problem of shortage of pulses is the responsibility of his department along with Agriculture and Commerce departments, and it needs to be tackled collectively.

The government expects production to remain around 172-175 lakh tonnes (LT) and is undertaking measures to meet the domestic demand of around 235 LT through imports. It has already directed the Commerce department to issue permission for imports as early as possible in order to address this shortage through imports.

Further, the government has also started buffer stocks for the pulses in some states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.