Guwahati: Ruchi Soya Industries Limited (now Patanjali Foods Ltd) has been a major player in the oil palm sector for many years and has oil palm operations in 9 states of India, including the two North-Eastern states of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd participated in the Assam bid and was assigned seven districts (Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon, Kamrup, and parts of Goalpara) in Assam to promote Oil Palm cultivation.

The Department of Agriculture, Government of Assam, and Ruchi Soya Industries Limited recently signed a memorandum of understanding to align district allocation.

Sri Anant Gyani, Director & Secretary Agriculture Govt of Assam, and Subhas Bhattacharjee, Head North-East Region Oil Palm, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. signed the MoU in Guwahati, Assam, in the presence of Syed Rajibur Rahman, Nodal Officer, NFSM, Govt of Assam, and Sri Debajyoti Sarma, Sr Manager & Head Assam State, Ruchi Soya Industries

Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd has recently changed its name and will be known as Patanjali Foods Limited as of July 1, 2022.

India is a major importer of edible oil, spending thousands of crores in foreign exchange each year, with Palm Oil accounting for the lion's share. The Government of India launched the National Mission on Edible Oil - Oil Palm to increase self-reliance in the edible oil sector (NMEO-OP).

Assam agreed to promote oil palm cultivation among its farmers under NMEO-OP, and after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India, the state government issued an "Expression of Interest" bid through the Department of Agriculture in December 2022, inviting private players interested in promoting oil palm plantations in Assam.

Under this mission, states with suitable climate and land for oil palm cultivation are offered a scheme to promote oil palm cultivation among the state's farmers.

The mission involves three parties: the state government, the growers (farmers), and the processors (companies/private players).

The state government promotes oil palm cultivation among farmers by providing subsidies; the companies involved provide planting material to the farmers; and when the plants begin to fruit, the companies buy back the produce at a government-determined price.