-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The current spike in pulse prices could have been anticipated, but India's cereal-centric food security policies emphasize rice and wheat while dis-incentivizing the production of pulses despite clear trends that show a declining preference for cereals. Even though India's dependency on imported pulses grew as imports rose from 2.7 million tonnes in 2010-11 to over four million tonnes this year, minimum support price-driven procurement and the...

-Livemint.com A pair of eggs costs less than Rs8 today whereas 100gm of tur dal costs between Rs16 and Rs20 New Delhi: The recent spurt in the prices of pulses is causing much heartburn to governments and consumers. But this is not the first time that prices of pulses have shot up; within the foodgrain basket, production and price shocks are fairly regular for pulses but rare for rice or wheat. So, how...

-The Hindu Patna: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Nitish Kumar government did not utilise the special Central fund for price stabilisation. After reservation, Dadri lynching and cow-slaughter, the rising pulse prices have now become a poll issue in Bihar, as leaders tried to pin the blame on their rivals. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Nitish Kumar government did not utilise the special Central fund for price...

-The Indian Express The current crackdown on the pulses trade may do more harm than good in the long run. The government has reasons to be concerned over spiralling dal prices — even more so when arhar at Rs 200 per kg has become a major campaign theme in the ongoing Bihar assembly elections. But that does not justify the kind of desperate measures it has resorted to. Not only have...

-Business Standard Plans to enhance buffer stock to 500,000 tonnes; Gujarat exempts importers from stock limit Even as retail prices of pulses continued to exceed Rs 200 a kg in some cities, the Centre stepped up its countrywide crackdown on hoarders and black marketers. The central government claims to have seized around 50,000 tonnes of pulses so far from 10 states, about 15,000 tonnes in the last few days alone. Officials say the...