Summary
India's southwest monsoon closed the June 1 to September 27 window 11.9% below the historical average, with 23 of 36 meteorological subdivisions short by more than 10% and Maharashtra declaring drought in nearly three-fourths of its tehsils.
El Niño is in a strong phase and is expected to turn very strong through January-February, which threatens a warm, short winter and a weak rabi harvest on top of a middling kharif. The Centre has already cut import duties on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil and allowed nil-duty arhar and urad and the case is now being made to extend nil duty to yellow peas, chana and masoor.
This editorial weighs consumer protection against producer prices and argues for a dated, pre-announced import window paired with direct relief for drought-hit farmers.
WHY IN NEWS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS
An Indian Express editorial has urged the Centre to keep food imports open as the monsoon ends with an 11.9% deficit and El Niño strengthens. Maharashtra has activated Trigger-1 of its Drought Management Code across 265 talukas.
Last week the Centre cut the import duty on crude palm and soyabean oil from 16.5% to 11% and on sunflower oil to 5.5%. The editorial now wants duty-free imports of yellow peas, chana and masoor, which reopens a trade-off the government settled the other way only eleven months ago.
Standard News
The Contradiction at the Heart of This Monsoon
The rain did fall. It simply fell in the wrong places and at the wrong times. The season from June 1 to September 27 closed 11.9% below the historical average and 23 of 36 meteorological subdivisions ended more than 10% short.
June and August were markedly deficient and what rain came was concentrated over Odisha, Chhattisgarh, east Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The south, Marathwada, Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch and the Northeast bore the brunt.
Maharashtra has declared drought in nearly three-fourths of its tehsils. The larger danger lies ahead. El Niño is expected to turn very strong from October through January-February, which means a warmer, shorter winter and thin soil moisture just as the rabi crop goes in.
The Centre's response so far has been to open the border:
- Crude palm and soyabean oil duty cut from 16.5% to 11%
- Sunflower oil duty cut to 5.5%
- Arhar and urad already importable at nil duty
- The demand now: nil duty on yellow peas, chana and masoor as well
Why the Consumer Case Is Strong
Food inflation falls hardest on the households that spend the largest share of income on food. Pulses are the main protein for most of them. India already depends on imports for a majority of its edible oil, so a duty cut there displaces relatively little domestic output.
A drought-hit farmer in Marathwada with a failed crop is also a buyer of dal and oil this winter. Shipments take months to arrive, so hesitation now is paid for in January prices.
Why the Farmer Case Is
Just as Strong Rabi sowing happens in October and November and farmers sow on the price they expect at harvest. Chana and masoor reach the market from February onward. An open-ended nil-duty window means cheap imports can land on the same mandis at the same time as the Indian harvest.
This has happened before. India allowed duty-free yellow peas from December 2023 and imported a record 6.7 million tonnes of pulses in 2024. Mandi prices of several pulses slipped below MSP and the government reimposed a 30% duty from November 1, 2025, timed specifically ahead of rabi sowing to shore up chana prices.
Reversing that now, after eleven months, tells sowers that the rules can change again before their crop is harvested.
TAN's Position
Quick Facts
Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first
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India's cumulative monsoon rainfall from June 1 to September 27, 2026 was 11.9% below the historical average.
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23 of India's 36 meteorological subdivisions recorded cumulative deficits above 10%.
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Maharashtra declared drought in 265 talukas, about 74% of the state, under its Drought Management Code.
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Trigger-1 of the Maharashtra Drought Management Code is linked to a continuous dry spell of at least 21 days.
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Import duty on crude palm and soyabean oil was cut from 16.5% to 11% and on sunflower oil to 5.5%.
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Arhar (tur) and urad can already be imported at nil duty.
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El Niño is a warming of the central and eastern Pacific that typically suppresses the Indian monsoon and raises winter temperatures.
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The southwest monsoon supplies nearly 75% of India's annual rainfall.
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VB-G RAM G replaced MGNREGA and guarantees 125 days of wage employment per rural household.
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PMFBY is the Centre's flagship crop insurance scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
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India imported a record 6.7 million tonnes of pulses in 2024.
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A 30% import duty on yellow peas took effect from November 1, 2025.
Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.
Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:
The full case for open imports, including why a drought-hit farmer is also a net food buyer this winter and why delay is paid for in January prices
The strongest producer-side argument, that in a drought year a price rise is the farmer's only natural insurance against a smaller harvest and how open-ended imports remove it
How the 2023-2025 yellow peas episode, including a Supreme Court PIL and a duty reimposed just before rabi sowing, makes this decision a question of policy credibility
TAN's four-part sequencing plan and the specific rabi sowing data that would change our position
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