Expect to sanction 100 cold chain projects next fiscal: Govt

The government expects to sanction around 100 cold chain projects in the next fiscal and as many as 81 such projects have been sanctioned in nearly four years, Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said today.

Out of the 81 cold chain projects, none have been sanctioned to be set up through Public Private Partnership (PPP), the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, adding that around 100 cold chain projects are expected to be sanctioned in 2017-18.

So far, four cold chain projects have been sanctioned so far this fiscal.

Since 2013-14 till date, a total of 81 cold chain projects have been sanctioned by the Ministry. Out of them, a maximum of 19 are in Maharashtra, followed by 13 in Uttarakhand.

The Minister said viability gap funding scheme for financial support to PPP in infrastructure including cold chains and post harvest storage has been formulated.

"Under PPP mode, no cold chain/cold storage project has been set up in last three years and current year," she said.

To promote the food processing sector, the government has taken various measures including extending project import benefits.