National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)

Why in the news?

The central government approved the National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO).

Key points:

• This mission has been started to make India self-reliant in terms of edible oils.
• Rs 10,103 crore has been allocated for this.
• After its approval, the production of major primary oilseed crops like rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soybean, sunflower and sesame will be increased.
• Along with this, focus will also be on secondary sources like cotton seeds, rice bran and tree-borne oils.
• Its target is to increase the primary oilseed production from 3.9 crore tonnes in the year 2022-23 to 6.97 crore tonnes by the year 2030-31.
• Its objective is to increase the cultivation of oilseeds by an additional 40 lakh hectares.
• For this, fallow lands of rice and potato will be targeted.
• Along with this, inter-cropping will be promoted and crop diversification will be encouraged.
• India imports more than 50 percent of its annual requirement of edible oil.