Tata Chemicals has extended its I-Shakti brand of salt to a range of pulses in Gujarat; Tata Salt is also produced in the State at the company's manufacturing plant in Junagarh district.
The i-Shakti brand of pulses will include four varieties of dals i.e. chana, toor, urad and moong (including moong chhilka ). These dals, being unpolished and unprocessed, aid faster cooking. They have been priced between Rs 95 to Rs 105 per kg, said Mr Ashvini Hiran, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer Products Division, Tata Chemicals Ltd.
The current domestic demand for pulses at 1.8 crore tonnes exceeds the annual supply at 1.5 crore tonnes. This gap has arisen since India's population is mainly vegetarian, thus creating a dependence on imports. The demand-supply mismatch has pushed up the price of pulses over other food commodities in recent years, he said.
Tata Chemicals has joined hands with Rallis India Ltd to leverage its ties with farmers across India. While Tata Chemicals has a wide reach in the northern and eastern States, Rallis India has a strong network in the southern and western States. They have successfully completed pilot projects towards the goal of ‘Farm to Fork', the company said.
A pilot project called ‘Grow More Pulses' (GMP) has been launched in a public-private partnership in Punjab and Tamil Nadu to encourage farmers to cultivate more pulses, which would be procured and marketed as ‘i-Shakti Dals'.