27 projects approved under Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, September 1

As many as 27 projects, including in Haryana and Punjab, have been approved under the Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value addition infrastructure of Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY).

The projects were approved at the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meetings chaired by Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who said new integrated cold chain projects were likely to generate direct and indirect employment for 16,200 and benefit 2,57,904 farmers.

The approved projects include Andhra Pradesh (7), Bihar (1), Gujarat (2), Haryana (4), Karnataka (3), Kerala (1), Madhya Pradesh (1), Punjab (1), Rajasthan (2), Tamil Nadu (4) and Uttar Pradesh (1).

“The 27 projects will leverage a total investment of 743 crores for the creation of modern, innovative infrastructure and effective cold chain facilities for the food processing sector and help increase efficiency and sustainability in India’s food supply chain,” a statement by the Ministry read.

Harsimrat said: “Saving perishable produce, by provisioning adequate infrastructure, will not only help in augmenting farmers’ incomes but will also act as a small step towards making India ‘atma nirbhar’ in the fruits and vegetable sector. They will not only provide a big boost to the growth of food processing infrastructure but also help in streamlining the agricultural supply chain, generate direct and indirect employment opportunities in rural areas, provide better prices to farmers and end-users, and benefit allied sectors.”

As many as 85 Cold Chain Projects have been considered for financial assistance throughout the country to boost the government’s efforts towards bridging the gap in supply chain and building world-class cold chain infrastructure.