 "India needs to develop its biotechnology capacity for crops like soybean as it has done for rice")
More than half the vegetable oil India consumes is imported. This requires paying dollars equivalent to Rs 1.31 trillion. The high dependence on import is not only turning costlier but it is also making the country vulnerable to foreign sources of supply and fluctuations in global prices. However, India has the potential to be self-sufficient in edible oil and that will raise the incomes of our farmers.
Attempts have been made since the late 1980s to achieve a breakthrough in oilseeds production to improve self-sufficiency in edible oil, but import dependence has only increased. Once again the “National Mission on
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