Union Government approved Setting up of a National Centre for Cold Chain Development

The government of India on 9 February 2012 approved setting up of a national centre for cold chain development and allocated a one-time grant of 25 crore rupees for its corpus fund. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The move comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of 50000 crore rupees annually in absence of proper storage facilities.

The Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval for registering National Centre for Cold Chain Development, NCCD, as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The NCCD will be having a Governing Council under the Chairmanship of Secretary with 22 members, covering government officials, Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI and other stake holders.

India is the second largest producer of horticultural commodities in the world. However, a significant portion of the produce, particularly perishables like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables.

India, the world's second largest producer of horticulture products after China , accounts for 71.5 million tonnes of fruits, 133.7 million tonnes of vegetables and 17.8 million tonnes of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey among others. A significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers go waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities. A Parliamentary panel has also pointed out that post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are as high as 35 per cent, valuing more than 50000 crore rupees annually. Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force in 2008 on cold chain development to assess the situation. The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development. A robust cold chain infrastructure will go a long way in reducing the losses of perishables.