Agriculture & FoodPriority2025-02-01

NMEO-Oilseeds Scheme Funded in Union Budget

Why focus: Iron Law 4 (Flagship Mission). ₹11,040Cr budget & 69.7 MT target make this a guaranteed GS3 Agriculture 'Assertion-Reason' candidate.

In News

What Happened

In the Union Budget 2025-26 presented on February 1, the Government of India officially funded the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds). The mission aims to increase primary domestic oilseed production from 39 million tonnes to 69.7 million tonnes over a seven-year period up to 2030-31. It focuses on major crops like mustard, soybean, and groundnut, while also targeting secondary sources like rice bran.

Why It Matters

India currently imports about 55-60% of its edible oil requirements, which drains foreign exchange and leaves domestic markets vulnerable to global price shocks. By drastically boosting domestic production, India aims to reduce its reliance on imported edible oils to 30-40%, ensuring greater food security and better income realization for local farmers.

Background

History & Context

India's quest for edible oil self-sufficiency began with the Technology Mission on Oilseeds, known as the Yellow Revolution, in 1986. Over the years, the government launched several schemes, such as the Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds, Pulses, Oil Palm and Maize (ISOPOM) in 2004 and the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) in 2014. In 2018-19, NMOOP was merged into the National Food Security Mission. Realizing that the import bill was still ballooning, the government launched the NMEO-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) in 2021 with a Rs 11,040 crore outlay specifically for palm oil. To address traditional oilseeds, the Union Cabinet approved NMEO-Oilseeds in October 2024 with a Rs 10,103 crore outlay, which received its major operational funding push in the 2025-26 Union Budget.

What Changed

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Seed Traceability: BEFORE, seed supply planning was fragmented; NOW, an Online 5-year rolling seed plan will be introduced through the Seed Authentication, Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI) Portal.
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Infrastructure Creation: BEFORE, public sector seed infrastructure for oilseeds was lagging; NOW, 65 new seed hubs and 50 seed storage units are being established in the public sector.
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Value Chain Integration: BEFORE, oilseed production lacked coordinated post-harvest linkages; NOW, over 600 value chain clusters will be developed across 347 districts, covering more than 10 lakh hectares annually, managed by FPOs and cooperatives.
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Area Expansion Strategy: BEFORE, expanding agricultural land for oilseeds threatened staple crop acreage; NOW, cultivation will be expanded by an additional 40 lakh hectares specifically by utilizing rice and potato fallow lands and promoting intercropping.
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Technology Adoption: BEFORE, traditional breeding methods were standard; NOW, the mission explicitly leverages cutting-edge global technologies, including genome editing, to develop high-yielding, high-oil-content seed varieties.
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Secondary Oil Extraction: BEFORE, the focus was overwhelmingly on primary seeds; NOW, there is a dedicated push for increasing extraction efficiency from secondary sources like Cottonseed, Rice Bran, Corn oil, and Tree Borne Oils (TBOs).

What Did NOT Change

Despite this massive push, India will not become 100% self-sufficient in edible oils. The mission conservatively targets reducing import reliance to around 30-40%, meaning a significant volume of imports will still be required by 2031. Furthermore, the core funding pattern remains unchanged, maintaining the standard 60:40 central-state funding ratio for general category states.

Prelims Angle

NCERT Connection

This event directly connects to Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 (Agriculture), which outlines the major oilseeds grown in India - groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum, soybean, castor, cotton, linseed, and sunflower. The chapter highlights that oilseeds cover approximately 12 percent of the total cropped area in the country. NMEO-Oilseeds is the real-world policy application of the need to optimize this cropped area through high-yielding varieties and fallow land utilization to meet the nutritional demands of a growing population.

Common Misconceptions

✗ India is entirely self-sufficient in edible oils due to its massive agricultural output.

✓ India relies heavily on imports, fulfilling around 55-60% of its total edible oil demand (about 15-16 million tonnes annually) from foreign sources like Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, and Brazil.

India is indeed a top global producer of many agricultural commodities, including milk and spices, and ranks first globally in producing rice bran oil and castor seed, leading people to incorrectly assume blanket self-sufficiency.

✗ NMEO-Oil Palm and NMEO-Oilseeds are the same scheme.

✓ They are two distinct components of the broader National Mission on Edible Oils. NMEO-OP (2021) focuses exclusively on expanding oil palm cultivation, primarily in the Northeast and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, while NMEO-Oilseeds (2024) focuses on traditional primary oilseeds like mustard and soybean across the mainland.

Both fall under the NMEO umbrella, aim to reduce edible oil imports, and have similar multi-crore budget outlays.

Practice Questions

Q1

How Many Correct

Consider the following statements regarding the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds): 1. The scheme will introduce an online 5-year rolling seed plan via the SATHI Portal. 2. India currently meets over 80% of its domestic edible oil requirement through indigenous production. 3. A key strategy of the mission is to expand oilseed cultivation by utilizing rice and potato fallow lands.

Q2

Match the Following

Match List I (Initiative/Scheme) with List II (Key Feature/Focus): List I: A. Yellow Revolution B. ISOPOM C. NMEO-OP D. NMEO-Oilseeds List II: 1. Launched in 1986 to boost oilseed production via a technology mission 2. Integrated scheme launched in 2004 covering maize and pulses as well 3. Special geographic focus on Andaman & Nicobar and Northeast India 4. Creation of over 600 value chain clusters across 347 districts

Q3

Assertion & Reason

Assertion (A): The NMEO-Oilseeds places a strong emphasis on extracting oil from secondary sources like rice bran and cottonseed. Reason (R): Expanding the geographical area for primary oilseed cultivation is infinitely scalable without affecting the production of staple food grains like wheat and rice. Select the correct answer:

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