The Government of India’s recent launch of the Mission for Atmanirbharta in Pulses, with an allocation of ₹11,440 crore spanning 2025–31, marks a timely and critical push to boost pulse production, expand acreage, and strengthen value chains. The mission rightly focuses on improving seed systems, ensuring assured procurement, enhancing processing infrastructure, and disseminating technology. Yet, at its core lies one overarching goal; to create enduring economic demand incentives for farmers to cultivate pulses, an essential condition for sustainable self-sufficiency and India’s protein security.
Unlike in the West, pulses are deeply woven into India’s tradition, culture, and everyday diet, serving as a vital source of plant-based protein for millennia. Yet, average per capita consumption remains far below the Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR–NIN) recommended levels across states and socio-economic groups. Even in Himachal Pradesh, India’s highest pulse-consuming state, the average monthly intake is only 1.32 kg per person (HCES 2022–23), compared to the recommended 2.55 kg for vegetarians and 1.65 kg for non-vegetarians. As population and dietary diversity expand, pulse demand is expected to rise from 25 million tonnes (2022) to between 27 and over 50 million tonnes by 2047.
The challenge, therefore, is not on the consumer side but in motivating farmers to expand pulse cultivation. The key lies in creating economic and ecological incentives that make pulses competitive with cereals, particularly in the face of distorted fertilizer subsidies that currently favor nitrogen-heavy crops like rice and wheat.
The Elephant in the Room; Cheap Nitrogen
The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has recently called for a phased hike in urea prices to correct soil nutrient imbalances, recommending that the resulting subsidy savings be redirected towards phosphorus and potassium fertilizers while protecting farmers through direct income support.
India’s fertilizer subsidy regime has long kept urea prices artificially low, about ₹266 per 45-kg bag, roughly a third of the global market price. This distortion encourages excessive nitrogen use in cereal crops and places pulses, which naturally fix nitrogen, at a severe economic disadvantage. The result is an imbalanced soil nutrient ratio of 10.9:4.4:1 (N:P:K), far from the ideal 4:2:1, leading to soil acidification, declining fertility, and widespread environmental damage. Nitrogen runoff pollutes water bodies, while nitrous oxide emissions intensify climate change. The fiscal cost is staggering: of the ₹1.92 lakh crore fertilizer subsidy, ₹1.44 lakh crore goes to urea alone, draining public funds that could otherwise promote sustainable agriculture.
A recent NITI Aayog study highlights that pulses fix 58–70 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare each year, enriching the soil by about 66 kilograms, worth ₹3,233 per hectare. Across India’s 27 million hectares, this amounts to 6.48 lakh tonnes of nitrogen, saving the exchequer an estimated ₹8,811 crore annually. Without pulses, equivalent synthetic nitrogen would raise subsidy costs by nearly ₹7,841 crore. Despite this immense natural benefit, pulses remain undervalued in cropping decisions, primarily because of policy distortions. Correcting this imbalance is both an opportunity and an imperative.
To make pulse cultivation economically attractive, the focus must shift to demand creation at the farmer level. Gradually rationalizing urea prices, coupled with direct benefit transfers to safeguard smallholder incomes, can encourage balanced nutrient use and remove cereals’ unfair edge. Greater investment in seed research and innovation is equally crucial to develop high-yielding, pest- and disease-resistant, and climate-resilient varieties that reach farmers on time through robust public–private partnerships.
Simultaneously, promoting responsible input use through expanded soil health cards, integrated nutrient management programs, and targeted fiscal incentives can help restore soil balance. Strengthening market infrastructure, via the electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), farmer producer organizations (FPOs), and assured procurement systems—will ensure fair price realization. Developing dedicated pulse clusters with tailored training, input support, and market linkage can further promote crop diversification and area expansion into rice fallows and other viable lands.
Consumer demand for pulses, though rooted in tradition, can be invigorated through innovation. Developing new products such as protein isolates, gluten-free flours, ready-to-eat snacks, and fortified foods can open up urban and export markets. Equally, positioning pulses as a nutritious, climate-smart food for younger generations, particularly Gen Z and millennials, can build a modern narrative around this age-old crop.
India’s Mission for Atmanirbharta in Pulses is both timely and visionary. But its success will hinge on creating demand from the farmers themselves, addressing the deep-seated distortions caused by cheap nitrogen and cereal-centric policies. Only then can India achieve true self-reliance in pulses, unlocking their full economic, ecological, and nutritional potential.
The writer is the Executive Director at Federation of Seed Industry of India
