BENGALURU: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Russia-Ukraine war will impact edible oil imports to some extent and India is already looking at other alternatives to import it.
“Sunflower oil is imported to India from Ukraine, which is a large producer of sunflower oil. So edible oil supply will be affected to some extent,” the minister told the media in Bengaluru.
Stating that the Union Government is already looking at other alternatives to import edible oil, the minister said they are looking at various other places from where any other edible oil, if not sunflower oil, that can be used in India and can be imported. “Edible oil is also going to be an area in which we may have challenges and see how we can address it,” she elaborated.
In the long run, to reduce India’s dependence on other countries for importing edible oil, the Centre is encouraging the cultivation of palm, groundnut and sesame. Sitharaman said they are supporting farmers taking up palm cultivation in the north east. However, the problem with palm cultivation is that it will take six years to bear fruit and farmers will have to be supported through that period.
On the impact of Ukraine crisis on crude oil prices, the Finance Minister said they are watching the developments post the full-blown war. “Global oil supplies and other indicators are going much higher than what was expected, but we have to see and also identify if there are ways in which we will be able to procure additional quantities. We have to see how it goes and how we can handle it,” she added.
‘GST relief cess extended to repay loans’
Bengaluru: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Goods & Services Tax (GST) compensation cess has been extended up to March 2026 to repay loans taken for the states to overcome the shortfall in GST compensation during 2020-2021. “The GST council has extended the compensation cess to up to March 2026 for paying the loans which were taken for all the states in 2020 for the compensation which could not be paid that year and somewhat paid in 2021,” she said responding to a question on Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s request to extend the GST compensation to the states at least for another three years. The GST council had decided that the Centre would borrow back-to-back and pay compensations to the states. The loan together with the interest itself required that the compensation cess be extended till March 2026, she explained. Many states, including Karnataka, are demanding an extension of GST compensation as the window ends in June 2022.