Demand Projection of Pulses in India

The paper attempted to make the demand projection of pulses in India. Though; pulses production and productivity have increased over the years, the country still has to import pulses to meet the demand of its growing population. The study is based on the NSSO data of the last six rounds. The three-stage demand model was used for computing the elasticities of pulses. Demand was projected using income and population growth data, while 2011 NSS round data was used as the base year. The study revealed that the consumption and expenditure of pulses increased over the years. The positive expenditure elasticity of pulses indicated a positive relationship between income and pulse consumption. The own price elasticity of pulses was negative, indicating that the pulses were highly responsive to their own prices. The demand for pulses is projected to increase over the years. The main reason for these increases was positive elasticity, increasing population, and higher projected GDP. It implied that production needs to be improved to achieve self-sufficiency. It is suggested to use cost reduction and high production technology so the prices should be stable in future and demand also fulfilled.