Financial Assistance for Setting up of Cold Storages

The State/UT-wise details of the financial assistance provided for setting up of cold storages for perishable horticultural produce during last five years are at Annexure-I.

As per the study conducted by NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS) in 2015 on “All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity (AICIC-2015)”, required capacity of cold storages at that time was 351.00 lakh MT against the existing capacity of 318.23 lakh MT in 2014. As per available information, currently, there are 8653 cold storages in the country with the capacity of 394.17 lakh MT. The State/UT-wise details of Cold Storages are at Annexure – II.

Government is implementing various schemes under which financial assistance is available for setting up of cold storage for perishable horticultural produce throughout the country. Though, to avoid damage to the agriculture/horticulture produce, besides Cold Storage, financial assistance is also provided for setting up of Pre-cooling Unit, Cold Room, Pack Houses, Integrated Pack House, Preservation unit, Reefer Transport, Ripening Chamber etc. under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). The components are demand/entrepreneur driven for which Government assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is available at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and at the rate of 50% of the project cost in hilly and scheduled areas through respective State Horticulture Missions (SHMs).