Workshop on 'Import dependence and food and nutritional security implications: A case study of pulses in India'

TERI organized a workshop on 'Import dependence and food and nutritional security implications: A case of pulses in India', on July 10, 2015, at India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. The workshop was a part of the centre's recently completed project and supported by the DFID UK.

The objective of the workshop was to share the key findings from the project as well as seek inputs from the distinguished participants. Key issues that were presented and discussed included stagnating production of pulses in India, low yield, change in per-capita availability and food implication on food security, impact of rising import costs of pulses on economic sectors, challenges experienced by the various stakeholders, and possible policy options that could make India self reliant, while increasing nutritional security.

Mr Nitya Nanda, Fellow, TERI, welcomed the distinguished panellists and participants and shared some of the key issues and challenges of the agricultural sector with special reference to pulses production and consumption. The findings of the project were presented by Mr Souvik Bhattacharjya, Fellow, TERI. Some of the distinguished speakers, who contributed towards the deliberation of the workshop included Dr K J Satya Sai, Deputy General Manager, Division of Economic Analysis and Research, NABARD, Mumbai; Dr Ashok Vishandas, Chairman Commission For Agricultural Costs And Prices, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India; Dr Shailja Sharma, Member Secretary, Commission For Agricultural Costs And Prices, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India; Dr Tara Nair, Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Studies, Ahmedabad; Dr S S Kalamkar, Director and Professor, Agro-Economic Research Centre, H.M. Patel Institute of Rural Development, Gujarat; Dr Usha Tuteja, Director, Agricultural Economics Research Centre, University of Delhi, and Dr K Inbasekar, Scientist, Agricultural Economics Division, at IARI.