The Dal Scam

Investigations by the Income Tax department indicate that the sudden spike in the prices of particular pulses in 2015 was a consequence of the formation of international and Indian cartels of traders. These allegations are denied by the players concerned. Reports prepared by tax officials that are being disclosed for the first time, indicate how the pulses trade in the country has been prone to manipulation. The officials also allege there was money laundering in dal trading. The two-part series, which was carried by the Economic and Political Weekly as a slightly-truncated single piece, is being reproduced here in full.

Report | Economic & Political Weekly

Getting to the Bottom of Things

5 July 2017

Conspiracy theories abounded at the peak of the dal crisis, not all of which were entirely unfounded. Everyone knew pulses were being hoarded, but no one had a clue how this was affecting the entire trade and the market. Could hoarding alone lead to such a shortage that prices would skyrocket so much? Unless, of course, this was being done in a concerted manner. And if at all bigger games were at play, then how did the stage-managed scarcity play out? The income tax (I-T) department’s appraisal...

Report | Economic & Political Weekly

When the Nation Couldn't Feel the Pulse

4 July 2017

When dal prices kept rising through the early summer of 2015, those were initially seen as a natural fallout of adverse weather conditions. But once the monsoons subsided, the prices went through the roof, throwing life out of gear. That’s when dal prices hit the headlines in newspapers and dominated discussion on prime time news. The Union government swung into action—first by cracking down on hoarders and announcing that it would import more pulses, and then by increasing the minimum support...