India imports over 7 lakh tonnes of pulses to meet domestic demand

India has imported over 7 lakh tonnes of pulses during April and May of this fiscal to meet domestic demand. This was informed by Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in a written reply to Lok Sabha yesterday. 

Mr Paswan said, the production of pulses varies in the range of 17 to 19.5 million tonnes while demand for



2016-17 is estimated at 24.61 million tonnes. He added, the deficit in domestic supply is met through imports primarily under private trade. Mr Paswan said the government has set up a group of officers involving various enforcement agencies for regular monitoring and exchange of information on hoarding, cartelisation.