Curriculum Dal and Oil: India's Kitchen Imports

Dal and Oil: India's Kitchen Imports

Why India, a farm powerhouse, imports much of its cooking oil and some of its pulses: the oilseed story, the Yellow Revolution, the import duty seesaw, growing oil palm at home, mustard and soybean, pulses as protein, dal price spikes, buffer stocks, import sources and self-reliance missions.

The Kitchen Import Bill How much India spends importing edible oils and pulses, why these two items are major imports for a food-surplus country, and why it matters. 📄 Read-aloud
The Yellow Revolution and After How the Technology Mission on Oilseeds briefly made India nearly self-sufficient in edible oils in the early 1990s, and why imports surged after trade liberalisation. 📄 Read-aloud
The Import Duty Seesaw How India frequently raises and cuts import duties on edible oils to balance consumer prices and farmer incomes, and why this uncertainty is costly. 📄 Read-aloud
Growing Oil Palm at Home How the 2021 National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm aims to expand palm plantations in India's Northeast and south, and the environmental and economic debates. 📄 Read-aloud
Mustard, Soybean and Groundnut Farmers How India's main oilseed crops are grown, why yields lag global levels, and how prices and weather affect oilseed farmers. 📄 Read-aloud
Pulses: India's Protein Why pulses are central to Indian diets and nutrition, how production is spread across crops and seasons, and why they are good for soil. 📄 Read-aloud
Dal and Oil: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on India's kitchen imports, the Yellow Revolution, import duties, oil palm and oilseeds. 5 questions
When Dal Prices Spike Why pulse prices can double in a short time, as in the 2015-16 tur dal crisis, and how weather, hoarding and imports interact. 📄 Read-aloud
Pulses Buffer Stocks and Procurement How India built buffer stocks of pulses after 2015, how procurement at MSP works through NAFED, and the costs of holding stocks. 📄 Read-aloud
Where India's Imported Dal Comes From How countries like Canada, Australia, Mozambique and Myanmar grow pulses for India, and how diplomacy and trade deals affect supply. 📄 Read-aloud
Why Farmers Choose Rice over Dal How assured procurement for rice and wheat, but not pulses and oilseeds, tilts farmers' choices, and what reforms could rebalance crops. 📄 Read-aloud
The Push for Self-Reliance in Dal and Oil What India's recent missions for pulses and oilseeds aim to achieve, what tools they use, and whether full self-reliance is realistic or desirable. 📄 Read-aloud
Dal and Oil: Recap How India can balance consumers, farmers and trade in edible oils and pulses, and a summary of the module. 📄 Read-aloud