Introduction
Launched with an outlay of ₹11,440 crore spanning 2025–26 to 2030–31, the Dalhan Atmanirbharta Mission (Mission for Self-Reliance in Pulses) seeks to eliminate India's heavy pulse import dependency and safeguard nutritional security. By addressing structural bottlenecks in production, procurement, and value addition, it aims to transform India from a net importer to a self-reliant producer of essential grain legumes.
Core Targets and Features of the Mission
- Quantitative Production and Area Targets: The mission aims to expand pulse acreage by 35 lakh hectares—reaching a total cultivated area of 310 lakh hectares—and scale domestic pulse output to 350 lakh tonnes (LMT) by 2030–31, up from approximately 245 LMT in FY24.
- Target Crops: It prioritizes import-sensitive pulses facing structural supply deficits, specifically Tur (Arhar), Urad, and Masoor (lentil).
- Farmer Outreach: The scheme is tailored to directly benefit over 2 crore smallholder pulse cultivators across key producing agro-climatic zones.
- Integrated Value-Chain Approach: Focuses on certified seed availability, subsidies for decentralized processing units (dal mills), modern post-harvest storage infrastructure, and minimized transit losses.
- Programmatic Convergence: Operates in synergy with initiatives like the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana to introduce sustainable agronomic practices in low-yield rainfed districts.
Rationale Driving the Mission
- Bridging Domestic Supply Deficits: Despite being the world's largest producer and consumer, India imported approximately 47 lakh tonnes of pulses in FY24, draining foreign exchange and exposing consumers to volatile international commodity cycles.
- Ensuring Nutritional Security: Pulses represent the primary and most cost-effective source of plant protein for a predominantly vegetarian population, serving as a critical intervention against hidden hunger and protein malnutrition.
- Agro-Ecological Sustainability: Pulses possess a modest water footprint, tolerate semi-arid conditions, and enrich soil fertility naturally via Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF), directly curtailing the requirement for synthetic chemical fertilizers.
Implementation Challenges
- Yield Stagnation and Low SRR: Average pulse yields in India lag behind global benchmarks due to inadequate Seed Replacement Rates (SRR), varietal deterioration, and limited field penetration of climate-resilient breeder seeds.
- Procurement Asymmetries: Although agencies like NAFED and NCCF procure under PM-AASHA and the Price Support Scheme (PSS), field-level procurement remains geographically skewed and overshadowed by cereal (wheat and paddy) price support mechanisms.
- Rainfed Fragility: More than 70% of domestic pulse cultivation occurs in un-irrigated, rainfed regions, rendering production acutely vulnerable to monsoon erraticism, dry spells, and terminal heat stress.
Conclusion
Achieving the targeted 350 LMT output demands bridging yield gaps through precision agronomy, quality breeder seed distribution, and tech-driven extension services. Coupling decentralized, assured procurement with resilient post-harvest infrastructure will incentivize sustainable crop diversification away from water-intensive cereals toward pulses.