India produced a record 358 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2024–25. Rice and wheat made up three quarters of it. Pulses, the main protein for most Indians, came to 26 million tonnes, less than a fifth of the rice crop.
On 1 July 2026 the Food Corporation held 523 lakh tonnes of wheat against a norm of 276, and 403 lakh tonnes of rice against 135, with a further 206 lakh tonnes of rice still in unmilled paddy. Storing, insuring and eventually selling off this surplus costs the exchequer every year.
Edible oil imports more than doubled in eleven years to 16.4 million tonnes, costing $20.8 billion and meeting over 60% of demand. Pulses imports hit a record 7.3 million tonnes in 2024–25, nearly three times the average of the six years before.
Minimum support prices are announced for 23 crops, but assured purchase exists almost only for paddy and wheat. Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh grow 46% of India’s wheat but supply 85% of what the government buys. In Punjab the state bought 92% of the rice crop. A farmer there has every reason to keep planting paddy.
Each kilogram of rice takes roughly 3,000–4,000 litres of water. Rice exports in 2018–19 carried about 24 billion cubic metres of water abroad. Much of it was pumped from aquifers in Punjab and Haryana that are already drawn at 136–156% of recharge.
India’s cereal yield is 3.6 tonnes a hectare, close to Pakistan’s and far below China’s 6.4 or Vietnam’s 6.0. Record harvests come from planting more land and pumping more water, not from getting more out of each field.
