Centre Bets on Productive NE to Boost Pulses Output

Talks soon with 7 states for land as India looks to curb imports of legumes and check inflation

- Dhirendra Kumar

The government is turning to the northeast to help remedy a shortfall in the production of pulses and thereby tame food inflation.

The Centre plans to launch a dedicated programme to leverage the high productivity potential of pulses grown in India's northeastern region and expand the cultivable area as it seeks to ease food inflation, two people said.

The Department of Consumer Affairs will shortly hold consultations with the state governments of Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, and Assam to identify land to grow pulses and draw up a five-year roadmap.

"The region has been chosen given that these states' average productivity is higher than the national average. These states have also traditionally depended on pulse supplies from other parts of the country, which, coupled with supply constraints and high transportation costs, has kept retail prices elevated," one person said.