Government plan to increase the purchase limit of pulses will be effective

29-Jun-2024 12:45 PM

New Delhi. The central government is considering increasing the purchase limit of pulses to increase the buffer stock. This will be a necessary, effective and useful step.

At present, the rule of purchasing a maximum of 25 percent of the total oilseeds and pulses produced in a state is prevalent, which causes difficulties to the farmers. Now the government is planning to buy 100 percent of the marketable stock. This can have two benefits.

Firstly, the pulse producers will indirectly get the guarantee of minimum support price and secondly, increasing the buffer stock will help in controlling the rise in the domestic market price. This has already happened in the case of gram. Now the government has planned to purchase 100 percent of Arhar (tuvar), urad and lentils.

Arhar is produced in Kharif season, lentil in Rabi season and urad in both the seasons. Often, due to obstruction or delay in import, the price of tuvar and urad in the domestic market becomes very high and fast. In such a situation,

the government is forced to take unpopular steps like stock limits to handle the situation. At present, the quantity of tur in the central buffer stock has decreased to less than 50 thousand tonnes, while it is being imported in very limited quantities from African countries. As a result, the government is not getting success in controlling the rise in the price of tur.