Cabinet Approves Rs. 11,040 Crore NMEO-OP To Boost Palm Oil Production In India

The Union Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to launch a new Mission on Oil palm to be known as the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a special focus on the North east region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The scheme with a pegged outlay of Rs. 11,040 crore has been formulated to provide a boost to palm oil production in the country and reduce dependence on imports from S.E. Asia.

Cabinet Approves Rs. 11,040 Crore NMEO-OP To Boost Palm Oil Production In India

"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", said the release from the ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare.

The outlay decided has been earmarked for a 5-year period. In a media briefing after the cabinet meet, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, ""Centre will come up with a mechanism to fix and regulate palm oil prices, If the market is volatile, the difference will also be paid by the centre through direct benefit transfer".

"A financial outlay of Rs 11,040 crore has been made for the scheme, out of which Rs 8,844 crore is the central share and Rs 2,196 crore is the share of states and this includes a viability gap funding component," it said. The programme aims to boost palm oil production by 3 times to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.

GoodReturns.in