Madhya Pradesh aims to raise pulse output by 60%

In the FY16, Govt imported a record 5.8 mt of pulses after domestic prices more than doubled

Madhya Pradesh aims to raise production of pulses by 60 per cent in the next three years to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi achieve his goal of making the country self-sufficient in the staple, the state’s chief minister said.

India, the world’s biggest consumer of pulses, faces an acute shortage of the protein-rich food, forcing the country to fork out about $2.65 billion a year to import the scarce commodity from Canada, Austria, and Ethiopia among others.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked me to help achieve his objective of making India self-reliant in pulses by raising production in Madhya Pradesh,”