New Delhi, May 30 -- New Delhi: The government is turning to the northeast to help remedy a shortfall in the production of pulses and thereby tame food inflation.

The Centre plans to launch a dedicated programme to leverage the high productivity potential of pulses grown in India's northeastern region and expand the cultivable area as it seeks to ease food inflation, two people said.

The Department of Consumer Affairs will shortly hold consultations with the state governments of Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, and Assam to identify land to grow pulses and draw up a five-year roadmap. Details of the additional land to be cultivated and the anticipated production levels are expected after the mee...