To reduce heavy dependence on import of edible oils, the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a new mission for palm oil to be known as the “National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)” with a financial outlay of ₹11,040 crore with a special focus on the North-Eastern region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“Due to the heavy dependence on imports for edible oils, it is important to make efforts for increasing the domestic production of edible oils in which increasing area and productivity of oil palm plays an important part,” the Cabinet Secretariat said in a press statement. India imported palm oils-both crude and refined-worth $5.8 billion in FY21, mostly from Indonesia and Malaysia. The government in a press statement said given the fact that around 98% of crude palm oil (CPO) is being imported, the new scheme proposes to increase the coverage to 10 lakh hectares by FY26 from 3.7 lakh hectares at present. The production of CPO is expected to go up to 11.20 lakh tonnes by FY26 and upto 28 lakh tonnes by FY30. For the new centrally sponsored scheme, centre will contribute ₹8,844 crore while states have to contribute ₹2,196 crore including the viability gap funding.
Source: live mint
