Between 2010 and 2020 Tamil Nadu’s pulse sector showed a mixed but broadly stagnant picture: total pulse production moved unevenly (with short-term peaks around the mid-2010s) while area under pulses generally contracted and yields remained low and variable. State and national programmes (improved varieties, short-duration cultivars, input support) helped push up production in some years, but pest/disease vulnerability, competition from higher-value crops, and limited irrigation kept productivity gains modest. By 2017–18 Tamil Nadu produced about 5.5 lakh tonnes of pulses from roughly 8.2 lakh hectares, illustrating large area but relatively low per-hectare yields compared with major pulse-producing states. The decade’s pattern implies that to raise pulse self-sufficiency the state must focus on raising yields (varietal adoption, plant protection, mechanisation), stabilising area through incentives, and improving market linkages.