 "Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal")
As many as 28,091 patents were granted as of March 15 in this fiscal compared to 28,391 in 2020-21, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash also informed that 15,283 patents were granted in 2018-19.
Replying to another question on edible oil, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is the largest importer of palm oil in the world.
India's import of edible oils stood at 1,35,40,020.94 tonnes in 2020-21.
At present, adherence to the NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) policy is not mandatory for the import of palm oil into India, he said. However, both Malaysia and Indonesia, which are the major suppliers of palm oil to India, have certification schemes to promote sustainability in palm oil production.
"It is mandatory for palm oil produced in Malaysia to be certified under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)," Goyal said.
In order to reduce dependence on imports, the government has launched the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with the aim to augment the availability of edible oil in the country by harnessing area expansion and increasing crude palm oil production.
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