'Not even a kilo of pulses will be imported from Jan 2028," says Amit Shah at launch of tur dal procurement portal

Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that India should become self-reliant in pulses by 2027 and not a kilo of pulses will be imported from January 2028.

Shah, who is also the minister for cooperation, unveiled the tur dal procurement portal through which the farmers can register with and sell their produce to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED)and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Limited (NCCF).

Shah said that a similar facility will be launched in future for urad, masoor and maize farmers. The minister also transferred about ₹68 lakh via direct benefit transfer (DBT) to 25 farmers who are registered with NAFED and NCCF towards payment for sale of tur dal via the portal, the Press Information Bureau statement read.

NAFED and NCCF are the two central agencies that undertake pulse procurement on behalf of the central government to maintain a buffer stock. They also buy pulses under the Price Support Scheme when the rates fall below the MSP.

Shah said before the sowing, tur farmers can register on the portal to sell their produce to NAFED and NCCF at minimum support price (MSP).

They will have an option to sell either to NAFED/NCCF or in the open market. In case the open market price of tur remains higher than the MSP at the time of harvesting, in that case an average rate will be arrived through a formula, he said, adding that the payment will be done through DBT.

The minister further said more farmers were not taking up pulses farming in the country because prices were not assured.

With procurement via the portal, the initiative will bring a major reform in the agriculture sector and help achieve self-reliance in pulses production, he added.

"Tur will be procured from farmers and it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantee," he added.

(With PTI inputs)