Foundation for palm oil mill laid in Arunachal Pradesh

GUWAHATI: Arunachal agriculture minister Tage Taki and Patanjali Ayurved MD Acharya Bal Krishna on Wednesday laid the foundation for Patanjali Foods Limited’s palm oil plant at the Industrial Growth Centre, Niglok, in the state’s East Siang district.
Patanjali Foods Limited (formerly known as Ruchi Soya Industries Limited) plans to undertake a palm oil plantation on 38,000 hectares of land in nine districts of the frontier state, a spokesperson for the company said. “We have already set up two nurseries at Pasighat and Holangi and are in the process of establishing three more nurseries at Kherram, FTC and Dipa in Lower Siang district,” the spokesperson said, adding that it will give an impetus to the state’s economy and will create tremendous employment opportunities and lead to an increase in the local farmers’ income.
In a press statement, the company said Patanjali Foods has committed itself to the government’s National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm programme to undertake large-scale cultivation of palm oil on five lakh hectares of land in the country, out of which 3.2 lakh hectares alone will be in the northeastern region.
“Patnajali’s NE palm oil programme will immensely benefit the state’s economy for the next 30 years and more. The key benefits include average annual production of around 7.5 lakh MT of palm oil, saving about Rs 10,500 crore of forex outgo annually and employment generation for nearly 5.8 lakh persons,” the spokesperson added.