On a petition seeking import curb on yellow peas due to its adverse impact on domestic production of pulses, the Supreme Court has passed an order directing the government to convene a meeting of different stakeholders to revisit the existing policy framework and explore a better substitute under which the farmers are incentivised for diversification of the conventional crops to pulses, along with certain benefits.

“We hope and expect that the Ministries will resolve this issue effectively through a new policy decision,” it said and added that the meeting will consider recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The next hearing of the case has been fixed on May 8.

Hearing a petition filed by farmer organisation Kisan Mahapanchayat, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on March 13 also said that “the deliberations that may take place among different stakeholders be placed on record.”

Commenting on the Order, Kisan Mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat told businessline that the commitment of Union Government’s Ministers of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Food, and Commerce towards the interests of farmers will be put to the test. He welcome the Order, specifically asking to place before the honourable court the respective position of different stakeholders concerning the Centre’s policies on crop diversification, MSP, and the assurance of procurement at MSP, Jat said.

Acting on the petition, which said that supply of imported yellow peas was affecting the livelihood of Indian farmers, the Supreme Court in September 2025 had sought the Centre’s response.

Yellow peas are seen as a substitute pulse variety for tur/arhar (pigeon peas) and chana (gram). The petitioner has said that in countries like Canada, the US and Australia, yellow peas are mostly used as cattle feed.

In its reply, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under Ministry of Commerce, had contended that the petition was “not maintainable in as much as no Legal Right or a Fundamental Right of the petitioner is violated.”

“That the petitioner, by invoking the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court had challenged the policy decision taken by the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in relation to Foreign Trade Policy. In the instant petition, the petitioner has utterly failed to point out any manifest illegality, infirmity, or arbitrariness in the said Notification. The Petitioner had also failed to demonstrate as to how their legal right has been violated,” DGFT had said in its reply filed before the apex court.

It also informed the Court that 30 per cent import duty on yellow peas was introduced from October 29, 2025.

During the hearing of the case, the Bench had reportedly observed; “You have an MSP for wheat, you have an MSP for rice (paddy), and you have an MSP for some pulses now also. The moment you make sure that the farmer will get this price, you will see how it (pulses production) will rise. Unfortunately, this aspect probably has not been really addressed…”

Pointing out that pulses farmers frequently sell their produce at 20–25 per cent below respective MSPs because there is no guaranteed government procurement platform in place like wheat and paddy, the Chief Justice has observed: “We don’t want to pass any order on that because it’s a matter of policy. But if you have subject experts who know the pulse of the farmer—without knowing these pulses, if they know the pulse of the farmer—he will do it.” The per-acre productivity of these pulses is far less as compared to wheat or paddy, he added.

The latest Order of the SC has also mentioned that different Ministries need to have a better coordination, understanding and should establish some mechanism under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to promote pulses as a substitute of wheat or paddy in the northern and central India and may be as a substitute for other crops in southern states.

It has been recognised that the absence of an incentivized MSP which should be sufficient enough to cover the expenditure small or medium level farmers incur in producing pulses, along with a guaranteed timely sale of the product, coupled with the fixation of the cost price of yellow peas, which is being imported in such a manner that it does not adversely impact the home-ground pulses produced by the farmers.

Published on March 15, 2026

Representative image
| Photo Credit:
lakshmiprasad S

Basmati rice exporter Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar(Exports) Ltd is set to launch its ₹440 crore initial public offering (IPO) on March 24.

The public issue will close on March 27, while the anchor investor bidding is scheduled to take place on March 23, according to the red herring prospectus (RHP).

The Haryana-based company’s proposed IPO will comprise a fresh issue of equity shares entirely, with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component.

The company plans to utilise the net proceeds from the issue to fund its working capital requirements and for general corporate purposes.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) granted its approval to the IPO in October 2025.

The offer size has been reduced to ₹440 crore compared to the ₹550 crore issue size proposed in the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed in June 2025.

Ahead of the public issue, the company raised ₹13 crore in a pre-IPO round by allotting 7.55 lakh shares at ₹172 per share.

Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar (Exports) Ltd is a processor and exporter of basmati rice in India. The company markets its products under the flagship brand “Aeroplane”.

It competes with the likes of other large basmati rice companies, including KRBL Ltd, LT Foods and Sarveshwar Foods, and various other unorganised processors.

Apart from its core basmati rice business, the company has diversified into FMCG products, offering staples and other essential kitchen items.

For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2024, the company reported revenue from operations of ₹1,421.3 crore and a profit after tax of ₹48.77 crore.

The company’s shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE.

Published on March 15, 2026

State-owned oil marketing companies are considering paying refineries a price lower than the imported rates of petrol and diesel to limit mounting losses from a retail fuel price freeze, a move that could hit standalone refiners like MRPL, CPCL and HMEL.

International oil prices have risen from about $70 per barrel before the West Asia conflict to over $100, but retail petrol and diesel prices in India have remained unchanged, forcing oil marketing companies (OMCs) to absorb the impact.

With no immediate end to the conflict in sight, OMCs are exploring ways to limit losses on fuel sales, two sources aware of the matter said.

One option under consideration is either freezing or fixing a discount on the refinery transfer price (RTP) – the internal price at which refineries sell fuel to marketing arms – to effectively pay refineries less than the import-parity cost of the fuels like petrol and diesel.

The proposed move would prevent refiners from fully passing on higher crude costs through RTP, forcing them to absorb part of the impact if global oil prices remain elevated.

While integrated state-run firms such as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) can offset part of the hit between refining and marketing operations, standalone refiners that rely on market-linked RTP for revenue could face a sharper margin squeeze, they said.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) – which have negligible retail presence and sell most of the petrol and diesel produced to the three OMCs – would be the most hit by the move.

The changes would also impact refiners like Nayara Energy and Reliance Industries Ltd if the freeze or discount on RTP is also implemented for private refiners, sources said.

The two private refiners sell a bulk of their production of petrol and diesel to OMCs, who own and operate 90 per cent of the over 1 lakh petrol pumps in the country.

Traditionally, petrol and diesel in India have been priced on an import parity basis, meaning the fuels are valued as if they were imported, even though it is primarily crude oil that is brought into the country and refined locally.

Refinery transfers of these products to oil marketing companies were based on import parity price (IPP) until June 2006, after which the government adopted trade parity pricing (TPP) – a benchmark that assigns 80 per cent weight to import parity price and 20 per cent to export parity price.

This pricing protected refinery margins, particularly of standalone refiners, who did not have the cushion of marketing margins on petrol and diesel, as the pricing was deregulated by the government in 2010 and 2014, respectively.

Despite being freed, petrol and diesel prices have not exactly moved in line with cost and have been frozen since April 2022, with OMCs absorbing losses when crude oil prices rise and making bumper profits when rates fell.

The move on the RTP freeze or discount move is being examined under-recoveries or losses on petrol and diesel have widened, sources said, adding that unlike cooking gas LPG, the government does not compensate OMCs for losses on auto fuels.

OMCs feel the freezing RTP would effectively distribute the financial burden across the refining ecosystem, but analysts say it could disproportionately affect independent refiners with limited downstream marketing exposure.

Also, it will distort the commitment of market price to standalone and private refiners, sources added.

Published on March 15, 2026

Jammu and Kashmir has completed more than 3 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin, achieving 97 per cent of the target, officials said on Sunday.

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department Secretary Mohammad Aijaz Asad directed officials to accelerate the pace of work for the remaining 11,340 houses under the scheme.

During a meeting to review the progress of PMAY-G in the Union Territory, he said the current phase of the scheme is nearing completion, and all works sanctioned under the existing phase must be completed without delay before the new phase begins.

The meeting was informed that a total of 3,23,299 houses has been completed, while work is in progress on the remaining 11,340 houses.

Asad directed assistant commissioners of development (ACDs) and block development officers (BDOs) to track each case and ensure that no sanctioned house remains incomplete.

He also instructed that any technical or administrative bottlenecks hindering progress be resolved immediately.

The secretary said that all pending works must be completed by April 15, stressing that officers should make every possible effort, even if it requires working around the clock, as houses left incomplete under the previous phase will not be taken up once the new phase begins.

He also directed the directors of rural development of the Jammu and Kashmir region to hold weekly review meetings and keep the department informed about the progress achieved.

He stressed the need for early release of pending instalments to beneficiaries, directing ACDs to conduct block-wise reviews in this regard.

Highlighting the recent survey conducted ahead of the launch of the new phase, he said that although it has been carried out using AI-based technology, deputy commissioners will still review to ensure that no eligible households are missed.

Published on March 15, 2026