Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed concern over the huge edible oil and fertilizer import bill putting pressure on the exchequer and said it was time to work in mission mode to make India self-reliant and reduce import dependency. Modi said it was necessary to become ‘AatmaNirbhar’ or self-sufficient as problems in exporting countries directly hit import prices for India, as happened after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukraine war.
Addressing a gathering after launching several projects related to the agriculture sector, the Prime Minister said it was important to reduce dependence on imported edible oil and fertilizers and even petroleum as much as possible. Modi said the government will spend Rs 2.5 lakh crore this year on importing soil nutrients only to ensure that high global prices do not affect farmers.
He also said that the government buys urea from overseas at Rs 75-80 per kg but supplies it to farmers at Rs 5-6 per kg to protect them from rising prices in global markets. The Prime Minister said that six major urea plants that were closed are being revived to increase domestic production. The production of nanourea was also increasing, which will greatly benefit farmers.
In the last fiscal, India’s vegetable oil imports grew by 70.72 percent year-on-year to $18.93 billion. In 2021-22, India imported oil, crude oil and products worth USD 160.68 billion, up nearly 94 percent. Modi further said that Indian farmers accepted his call to increase pulses production in 2015 and production has increased by 70 percent in recent years, reducing dependence on imports.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the Oil-Palm Mission launched by the government to make India self-sufficient in edible oil. He further stated that work is currently underway to run vehicles on ethanol obtained from farm products and bio-CNG from agricultural waste and cattle dung. More than 1,500 agro-startups exhibited their products and innovations on this occasion. The Prime Minister also appreciated the startups for coming up with innovative products.
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