Overview

• Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said India will not bow to external pressure and warned that trade and tariffs are now being used as weapons.
• Coverage linked his remarks to recent U.S. tariff hikes under President Trump that have strained negotiations on a bilateral trade deal.
• Chouhan argued India cannot rely on global food markets and set self-reliance as the goal, prioritising staples where deficits persist such as pulses and edible oils.
• He outlined a six-front farm strategy that emphasises raising productivity, advancing mechanisation and scaling food processing with small farmers in mind.
• He said ICAR is advancing better seeds using genome editing as GM crops are not permitted, and announced a mission to lift pulses output 40% to 35 MT by 2030–31 with Rs 11,440 crore, to be launched by the Prime Minister on October 11 alongside PMDDKY and more than 1,100 projects worth over Rs 42,000 crore.