India's Quiet 'Pulses Revolution' To Serve 100% Homegrown Dal

ICRISAT February 11, 2026

For decades, India has carried a paradox on its plate. The country that feeds the world on dal is also the world's largest consumer, producer, and importer of pulses. From tur and urad to masoor, the protein backbone of Indian diets has routinely come from the US, Africa, Myanmar, Australia and Canada. Every bowl of sambar or dal tadka has quietly carried the weight of global supply chains and volatile imports.

That paradox is now set to end. Even as the White House briefly flirted with the idea of tariff concessions on "certain pulses", a reference that was quickly scrubbed from its official trade fact sheet, India has made it clear that the future of dal will not be dictated by overseas pressure or presidential tantrums. Instead, it will be shaped in Indian fields, Indian laboratories, and by Indian farmers. The signal could not be clearer: India is on the cusp of a Pulses Revolution.

Beyond Tariffs, Towards Self-Reliance

The fleeting mention of "certain pulses" in a US trade document earlier this week triggered political ripples in Delhi. Pulses are not just another commodity. They are nutritionally vital, culturally embedded, and politically sensitive. Any hint of opening the floodgates to imports touches a raw nerve in a country where nearly 20-25 per cent of protein intake comes from pulses.

But the swift removal of that reference from the revised White House fact sheet underlined a deeper truth: India is no longer negotiating from a position of weakness.

That confidence flows directly from a major policy shift announced late last year. On October 11, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, a six-year, Rs 11,440 crore national programme aimed at nothing less than ending India's import dependence on dal. The mission targets a dramatic scale-up of domestic production to 350 lakh tonnes and expansion of cultivation to 310 lakh hectares by 2030-31.

Just as crucially, it promises 100 per cent procurement at minimum support price (MSP) for three politically and nutritionally critical pulses - tur (arhar), urad and masoor, for four years. Nearly two crore farmers are expected to benefit through assured procurement, free seed kits, certified seeds and value-chain support. This is not a defensive policy. It is an offensive one.

See https://pressroom.icrisat.org/indias-quiet-pulses-revolution-to-serve-100-homegrown-dal