The India Pulses and Grains Association urges government to replace tur dal with other pulses in mid-day meal project

With tur prices rising by 10% in a month, the India Pulses & Grains Association (IPGA) has urged the government to replace the tur dal served in the governments mid-day meal project with other pulses like lentils, masoor and chana. Tur dal production is expected to be lower in the current crop year (July-June ) due to unseasonal October rains in Maharashtra and Karnataka. This has pushed up the price of the commodity. Last fiscal, India had imported 850,000 tonnes of tur (pigeon peas) to meet domestic demand. The Center has also extended the import of tur and urad pulses under the ‘free category’ till March 31, 2024. We have urged the government to float tender for 5 lakh (500,000) tonnes for other pulses,” Bimal Kothari, chairman of IPGA, said. “Now the government only floats tender for tur pulses for its mid-day meal scheme. If this happens then prices of tur will soften. As per the second advance estimate for food grain production for the 2022-23 crop year, tur production was ...