Pulse Sector Unhappy with Budget Provisions

04-Feb-2026 04:57 PM

New Delhi: The domestic pulse industry and trade sector are unhappy with the provisions of the Union Budget presented in Parliament by the Union Finance Minister. In fact, the agriculture sector has also expressed disappointment with the budget.

This budget makes no mention of increasing the allocation of funds for either the procurement of pulses or for seed research and development.

Now, the funds for these two areas will have to be allocated from the budget already earmarked for the Ministry of Agriculture.

The secretary of a leading trade body, the India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), says that everyone is surprised by this budget.

There was no discussion at all about the pulse sector in this budget. Only the budget allocation for the agriculture sector has been increased slightly.

The food subsidy estimate in this budget has been increased to Rs. 2.28 trillion, compared to Rs. 2.03 trillion in the previous budget, but most of this amount will be used for the procurement of rice and wheat. This will leave less money available for the procurement of pulses and oilseeds.

Due to lower production compared to consumption in India, there is a need for massive imports of pulses, which requires spending a huge amount of valuable foreign exchange.

Dependence on imports can be reduced or eliminated by increasing domestic production of pulses. Rahul Chauhan, a leading analyst and President of iGrain India, says that the government knows that the prices of grains like rice, wheat, and maize are below the Minimum Support Price (MSP), so it will have to increase procurement.

As a result, a larger amount has been allocated for this. In comparison, the amount allocated for the procurement of pulses and oilseeds can be considered negligible.

The development of improved seeds for pulses is essential to help increase their yield and production. The government should have focused on this.