Daily Current Affairs 20 October 2023 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 20 October 2023 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :
National Mission on edible oils- Oil Palm
Source: The Hindu
GS III: Science and Technology
Overview
- About National Mission on edible oils- Oil Palm
Why in the News?
The Union government has recently planned to cover an area larger than the entire state of Sikkim with palm oil plantations in 6 northeastern states (NER) as part of a National Mission on edible oils.
About National Mission on edible oils- Oil Palm
- A Centrally Sponsored Program, the NMEO-OP seeks to increase the production of edible oils by expanding the oil palm plant’s area and producing crude palm oil (CPO), as well as by lowering the amount of edible oils that must be imported.
- It was introduced in 2021–2022.
- Fifteen states nationwide are implementing it, including six Northeastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura).
- Meghalaya declined to join the mission because of the impact on biodiversity and farmer resistance.
- By establishing seed gardens and oil palm nurseries, it will contribute to increasing seedling output and ensuring domestic seedling availability in accordance with the NMEO-OP aim.
- Implementation Monitored by
- General Council (GC)
- Executive Council (EC) at the national level
- State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) at the state level
What is the Aim?
- Increase the area of oil palm to 10 lakh hectares by 2025-26.
- Increase the Crude Palm Oil production from 0.27 lakh tonnes during 2019-20 to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26.
- Maintain consumption level of 19.00 kg/person/annum till 2025-26.
About Oil Palm
- It had originated from West Africa.
- What are the Uses?
- Edible purposes in the form of cooking oil
- Manufacturing of several food products and processing Industry
- Beauty products
- Biofuel
- It highest vegetable oil-yielding capability per ha.
- Oil Palm can give around 3 to 5 Tons of oil per hectare.
- Commercially very much viable in comparison with other commercial crops like Rubber, Coconut etc.
- Vitamin A and Vitamin E contents are the highest in palm oil.
Prelims
Gujarat’s Dhordo
- The Prime Minister hailed the Dhordo village in Kutch district of Gujarat for being awarded as the Best Tourism Village by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
- Dhordo in Gujarat’s Kutch region.
- It has reached the list of 54 best tourism villages in 2023.
- Madla from Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district has been picked for the Upgrade Programme.
- Villages were named during the UNWTO General Assembly.
- Launched in 2021, the Best Tourism Villages initiative is part of the UNWTO Tourism for Rural Development Programme.
- The programme fosters development and inclusion in rural areas, combat depopulation, advance innovation and value chain integration through tourism, and encourage sustainable practices.
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