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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for removal of prohibition on export of all types of pulses to ensure that farmers have greater choice in marketing their produce and in getting better remuneration for their produce.
The CCEA also empowered the Committee chaired by Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and comprising Secretaries of Department of Commerce (DoC), Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Department of Revenue (DoR), Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) and Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), to review the export/import policy on pulses and consider measures such as quantitative restrictions, prior registration and changes in import duties depending on domestic production and demand, domestic and international prices and international trade volumes.
Opening of export of all types of pulses will help farmers dispose off their products at remunerative prices and also encourage them to expand the area of sowing. Export of pulses would provide an alternative market for the surplus production of pulses. Allowing export of pulses will also help the country and its exporters to regain their markets.
It is expected that pulses production will be sustained in the country and the import dependence on pulses will come down substantially. This is also likely to provide higher levels of protein to the population and work towards nutritional security. The integration with global supply chain is also likely to help farmers in adopting good agricultural practices and better productivity.
In the 2016-17 production year, Indian farmers lived up to the challenge of reducing the import dependence on pulses by producing a quantity of 23 million tonnes. The government has taken a number of steps to sustain the high pulses production by farmers. It has procured 20 lakh tonnes by ensuring minimum support price or market rates, whichever is higher, directly from the farmers. This has been the highest ever procurement of pulses
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