India manages its prodigious demand for pulses using a mix of import policy, price stabilisation and conditional MSP procurement. India’s pulse output has hovered around 2.5 crore tonnes in recent years while demand is estimated to be three crore tonnes; imports fill the gap. Pulses account for roughly a quarter of non-cereal protein intake and support five crore farmers and their families. As a result, farmers are incentivised to underinvest in pulses, leading to a vicious cycle. All this is why the initial apparent inclusion of pulses in the U.S. documents, describing what India would open to American agri-imports, hit a raw nerve among India’s farmers.

Source: The Hindu February 13, 2026 00:26 UTC