The Indian government has approved an investment of INR2.31bn ($43.89m) to set up an additional 30 cold chain projects in the country.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) had submitted a proposal to create additional cold chain capacity, which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
The committee said that the proposal has been approved with a view to enhance shelf-life, reduce the wastage, and ensure value addition and employment generation.
Till date, the ministry has approved 49 projects, which are targeted to create an additional cold chain capacity of 2.31 lakh tons, 234 reefer vehicles and 34 tons per hour of individual quick freezing capacity.
The total project cost of the 49 projects is INR10.72bn ($203.85m), which involves government grant of INR3.80bn and private investment of INR6.91bn ($131.42m).
The project seeks to establish processing centers near the farm, which will include infrastructure such as facilities for weighing, sorting, grading, waxing, cleaning, controlled atmosphere, cold storage, deep freezing and mobile cooling units.
