One Year of the Pulses Mission and PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: What the Government's Numbers Show
Both farm schemes were launched on October 11, 2025. Official estimates show pulse output and procurement up and imports down, but the 2030-31 targets remain a long way off.
Two of the government's biggest farm initiatives completed their first year on October 11, 2026. Both were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi a year earlier: the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, which aims to end India's reliance on imported dal, and the PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, which targets 100 of the country's weakest farming districts.
Here is what each promises, and what the government's first-year figures show.
1. The pulses mission
India is the world's largest producer of pulses, yet it still imports large quantities to meet demand. The mission is meant to close that gap.
What it promises:
- Outlay: ₹11,440 crore over six years, from 2025-26 to 2030-31.
- Focus crops: tur (arhar), urad and masoor.
- Production target: 350 lakh tonnes by 2030-31, up from 242 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
- Yield target: from 881 kg per hectare to 1,130 kg per hectare.
- Assured buying: NAFED and NCCF will procure 100% of tur, urad and masoor offered by registered farmers in participating states for four years, at the minimum support price.
- Seeds and processing: certified seed and free seed kits for farmers, and around 1,000 processing units.
When the mission was approved in October 2025, it was to be implemented in 416 focus districts. The government's one-year backgrounder puts the cluster coverage at 489 districts.
What the first-year figures say: According to the Agriculture Ministry's backgrounder released for the anniversary, as summarised by Legacy IAS:
- Production in 2025-26 is estimated at 274.09 lakh tonnes, up from 256.83 lakh tonnes the year before.
- Imports fell by about 31.5% in value, from ₹46,427.60 crore in 2024-25 to ₹31,793.59 crore in 2025-26.
- Procurement rose to 31.41 lakh tonnes, from 18.40 lakh tonnes.
These are official advance estimates and are subject to revision. They point in the right direction, but output would still need to rise by more than a quarter to reach the 2030-31 target.
2. PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana
This scheme is about places rather than crops. It picks 100 districts with low farm productivity, low cropping intensity and little farm credit, with at least one district in every state, and tries to lift them by bringing existing schemes together.
What it promises:
- Approval: by the Union Cabinet on July 16, 2025.
- Money: about ₹24,000 crore a year for six years, mostly by converging existing spending.
- Convergence: 36 central schemes across 11 departments, plus state schemes and private partners.
- Planning: each district prepares its own action plan through a committee chaired by the Collector.
What the first-year figures say: According to the ministry's backgrounder, as summarised by Legacy IAS, all 100 districts now have action plans under way. Districts are ranked monthly on a set of 121 indicators, and their average score rose from 18.85 in April 2026 to 46.89 in August 2026. Those are progress scores on the scheme's own dashboard, not measures of farm incomes or yields, so the real test will come with crop and income data in the coming seasons.
What to watch
- Prices for farmers: assured procurement only helps if purchase centres are close and payments are quick.
- Prices for consumers: less import dependence should, in time, mean steadier dal prices.
- Independent data: official scores and estimates need to be borne out by surveys of farm incomes and yields.
For the wider economic picture, read about the RBI's latest repo rate decision.
Sources
This article draws on the following reporting. Dates are when each source was originally published.
- Outlook Business: Cabinet Approves ₹11,440 Crore Mission to Make India Self-Sufficient in Pulses ·
- Legacy IAS (summary of PIB backgrounders): PIB Summaries 12 October 2026 ·
- NarendraModi.in: Cabinet approves the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana
- Press Information Bureau: Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses (fact sheet, October 2025) ·
Written by
Newsroom
Reporting, explainers and analysis from The Daily’s editorial desk, based on verified public sources that are listed with every story.
More from The Daily Desk →Enjoyed this story?
Get the best of The Daily in your inbox every Sunday.
