On a yearly basis, the sowing is about 3% higher, according to the latest data from the ministry. Commodity-wise,
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recently said that the central government is committed to having 100% procurement for Urad, Arhar and Masur in all the states, as he called for generating awareness on the issue so that more and more farmers come forward for pulse cultivation.
India is a large consumer and grower of pulses and it meets a portion of its consumption needs through imports. India primarily consumes chana, Masur, urad, Kabuli chana, and tur pulses. Despite several measures, including various incentives to farmers, India is still dependent on imports of pulses for its domestic requirements. Pulses imports have almost doubled in 2023-24.
India has three cropping seasons -- Summer, Kharif, and Rabi. Crops that are sown during October and November and the produce harvested from January depending on maturity are Rabi. Crops sown during June-July and dependent on monsoon rains are harvested in October-November are kharif. Crops produced between Rabi and Kharif are Summer crops.
Traditionally, Indian agriculture (especially the Kharif area/output) is heavily reliant on the normal progression of
India receives over 70% of its overall rainfall during this southwest monsoon period. Thus, the timely and proper occurrence of monsoon rainfall holds prominence for the Indian economy, given the livelihood of nearly 45% of India's population depends on agriculture which depends on rainfall.