India’s Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah, on January 4, 2024, launched an e-portal to procure tur pulses above market prices. Through this e-portal, the centre aims to register available stocks that farmers intend to sell.
CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported, quoting government sources, that India was set to launch the e-portal.
This farmer-centric initiative aims to empower tur dal producers with better prices through procurement, streamlined processes and direct bank transfers by NAFED and NCCF, thereby boosting domestic pulses production and reducing import dependence, the government said.
The pulses will be procured by government-backed cooperatives like NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) and NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India) as per a dynamic pricing formula. MSP or market price, whichever is higher, will be paid to the farmers.
The process of registration, purchase and payment on the portal will be available on a single medium and registrations can be done directly or through PACS and FPO. The payment to the farmers will be made by NAFED directly into their mapped bank account and no agency will be involved in between.
The move is aimed at incentivising farmers with ample remuneration and reducing dependence on imports by purchasing 80% of the buffer stock directly from farmers. As per government estimates, India is slated to import 12 lakh tonnes (LT) of pulses in the ongoing fiscal, which is more than 35% compared to the previous fiscal.
The Centre’s decision comes after detailed discussions were held over the issue between the Ministry of Cooperation & Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
(Edited by : Sangam Singh)
First Published: Jan 2, 2024 10:01 PM IST
