India, Feb. 2 -- Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, announced the launch of a six-year mission to boost output of pulses to help achieve self-sufficiency of three widely consumed varieties.

Pulses are the commonest source of protein, which saw a high spell of inflation in 2024, peaking to 18% at the retail level in August.

The pulses mission will focus on development of climate-resilient seeds, remunerative prices for growers, and post-harvest management as well as storage, according to the objectives laid out in the budget.

A key target handed down to Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is to end India's dependence on imports to meet the country's pulses demand by 2029-30.

"Our gove...