Soya-daal in the offing for aam admi

With prices of pulses ruling at higher levels, soya industry says the bean can offer a cheaper yet better alternative.

Being referred to as daal analogue in industry circles, the product is already in use in mid-day schemes implemented by Akshaypatra and Naandi Foundation in several States. The daal analogue is made of edible grade defatted soya flour, wheat flour and turmeric.

Unlike daal that takes long time to cook, the soya daal analogue can be cooked in 20 minutes saving fuel. The alternative is cheaper by 35 per cent than the regular daal.

Though the industry is talking about the advantages of daal analogue in the last few years, the prohibitive cost of the machinery is keeping the entrepreneurs away from production.

An industry expert says the country has got only two machines so far that can make the alternative.

“We are working with the University of Illinois to develop a low-cost machine that costs around ₹50 lakh. We are expecting it to be ready in six months,” Suresh Itapu, Director (Technical) of Assocom Institute of Bakery Technology and Management, told BusinessLine.

As of now, the country is producing 50,000 tonnes of daal analogue.

“There is a lot of scope to increase production. The additional advantage of soya-made daal is, you can fortify with vitamins easily,” he said.

Though the project is meant for use in Bangladesh, the Indian soya industry says the country can benefit from this technology.

“We have been asking the Government to give subsidies for the import of the machines that cost ₹20 crore a piece. If we could bring in 25 machines with lower import duty, we can attract more players to produce daal,” Suresh, who is also Chief Executive Officer of NutriTech Consulting Services Private Limited, said.

The soya industry is asking the government to do away with VAT of 14 per cent on the products to make it more affordable for consumers.

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