-Down to Earth blog Palm oil is water-intensive and requires large patches of land India is the second-largest consumer of edible oil globally and its largest importer. While the government has taken several initiatives over the years to increase the domestic production of edible oils, its shortage and high price are often in the news. Palm oil production grew between 2015-2016 and 2020-2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent,...

-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

-The Wire Science * Solar energy is a rapidly expanding marketplace that should benefit the environment. Solar panels can last for decades if they are properly cleaned and maintained. * But there is a catch. What happens to these panels after they are decommissioned? They go straight to the landfill, where they have significant consequences. * Heavy metals in solar panels such as lead and cadmium have been known to seep out of...

-ThePrint.in Indians spending 14% more on edible oil compared to last year. Experts expect a cooldown if no shocks prevail, government says ‘situation under control’. New Delhi: A bottle of cooking oil is a constant in every Indian kitchen, but its price is not. According to data sourced from the Department of Consumer Affairs, by 16 May, consumers in the country were spending an average of 14 per cent more, or an extra...

-TheNewsMinute.com The Union government’s wheat procurement is set to decline by more than half to 19.5 million tonnes in the current rabi marketing year amid higher exports and likely fall in output. The average price of wheat flour in retail markets stood at Rs 32.91 per kilogram on Monday, a nearly 13% increase compared to the year-ago period, according to official data. The all-India average retail price of wheat flour or atta...