India urges states to shift bonuses toward pulses, oilseeds and millets
India says its January advisory on state crop bonuses was meant to encourage diversification away from wheat and paddy and toward pulses, oilseeds and millets.
India's finance ministry said on April 13 that its January 9, 2026 letter to state governments on crop bonuses was only an advisory and not a directive, but it made clear that New Delhi wants state support policies to encourage a shift toward pulses, oilseeds and millets. The ministry said the purpose was to promote greater crop diversification in line with national priorities on nutrition, food security and long-term farm sustainability.
The clarification came after political criticism of the letter. In its statement, the ministry said the communication from the Department of Expenditure Secretary asked chief secretaries to align bonus policies with broader national goals, not to surrender state powers. It described that alignment as a shared responsibility that should serve farmers, consumers and the country as a whole.
The ministry argued that many states, especially in northern India, remain heavily skewed toward wheat and paddy. When states add a bonus on top of the central minimum support price for those crops, they reinforce that pattern. In New Delhi's view, the result is less acreage for pulses, oilseeds and millets, more water stress, more fertilizer-intensive farming and higher dependence on imports of pulses and edible oilseeds.
Officials said the larger policy objective is to discourage monoculture, particularly wheat in parts of the north and paddy in several other states, and to move agriculture toward a more resilient crop mix. Expanding domestic production of pulses, edible oils and oilseeds, the ministry said, is important not just for strategic and economic reasons but also for farmer welfare.
The statement linked crop diversification directly to import risk and price stability. It said stronger domestic output would reduce exposure to international uncertainty, supply-chain disruptions and volatile prices, while also improving nutritional security. For agrarian policy, the message is clear: bonus payments are no longer being discussed only as an income-support tool, but also as a lever to reshape what India grows and how dependent it remains on imported food staples and oils.