Lok Sabha Question No. 1338 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-11
Subject: Cold Storage facilities
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Sanjay Uttamrao Deshmukh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1338

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 11 TH  FEBRUARY, 2025

## COLD STORAGE FACILITIES

## † 1338. SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the existing cold storages available across the country are sufficient as  the  demand  of  farmers  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State-wise  particularly  in Maharashtra;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  storage  capacity  of foodgrains and modernize the storage facilities across the country;
- (c) whether the Government has fixed any timeline in this regard, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government is planning to set up decentralised storage capacity for  farmers  within  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State-wise,  including Maharashtra; and
- (e) the details of the estimated funds required for this purpose and the time by which these facilities are likely to be established?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

(a):    A  study  was  conducted  by  NABARD  Consultancy  Services  (NABCONS)  in 2015  on  'All  India  Cold-chain  Infrastructure  Capacity  (AICIC-2015)'.  The  study assessed  the  required  capacity  of  cold  storages  at  that  time  as  351.00  lakh  MT against the existing capacity of 318.23 lakh MT in 2014 including Maharashtra. The study also assessed the cold storage requirement upto the year 2019-20, which is 519.53 lakh MT. As per available information, there are 8760 cold storages in the country  including  Maharashtra  with  the  capacity  of  397.08  lakh  MT  as  on  30 th January, 2025. The State-wise details including Maharashtra are at Annexure-I .

(b) & (c): Food Corporation of India (FCI) stores food grains (mainly wheat & rice) after procurement for Public Distribution System (PDS) and to maintain buffer stock.

The  requirement  of  Storage  capacity  in  FCI  depends  upon  the  level  of procurement,  requirement  of  buffer  norms  and  Public  Distribution  System  (PDS) operations for Rice and Wheat mainly. FCI continuously assesses and monitors the storage capacity and based on the storage gap assessment, storage capacities are arranged  by  way  of  construction  of  godowns,  hiring  of  godowns  through  following schemes:

1.  Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme
2.  Central Sector Scheme (CSS)
3.  Construction of SILO's under PPP mode
4.  Hiring  of  godown  from  Central  Warehousing  Corporation  (CWG)/  State Warehousing Corporation (SWGs)/ State Agencies
5.  Hiring of godown through Private Warehousing Scheme (PWS)
6.  Creation of godowns under Asset Monetization

The time-limit set for the construction of the godowns under various schemes is as per the Contract.

(d) &  (e):  In  order  to  address the  foodgrain storage challenges in rural areas, the Government on 31.05.2023, has approved the 'World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in  Cooperative  Sector',  which  has  been  rolled  out  as  a  Pilot  Project.  The  Plan entails creation of various agri. infrastructure at Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS) level, including godowns, custom hiring center, processing units, Fair Price Shops, etc. through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India  (GoI),  such  as,  Agriculture  Infrastructure  Fund  (AIF),  Agricultural  Marketing Infrastructure  Scheme  (AMI),  Sub  Mission  on  Agricultural  Mechanization  (SMAM) Pradhan  Mantri  Formalization  of  Micro  Food  Processing  Enterprises  Scheme (PMFME), etc.  Under  the  Pilot  Project  of  the  Plan,  construction  of  godowns  has been  completed  in 11 PACS  of  11  States  including state of  Maharashtra. Foundation Stone has been laid in 500 PACS of 10 States. The state wise details of 11 PACs including Maharashtra are at Annexure - II .

This  plan  is  being  implemented  by  utilizing  the  existing  budgetary  outlays under various Government of India schemes, such as AIF, AMI, SMAM, etc., that are being converged at the level of these primary level cooperative societies.

The objective of the initiative is to establish grain storage infrastructure at the PACS level to decentralize storage, reduce post-harvest losses, and enhance food security.  This  plan  enables  PACS  to  act  as  procurement  and  storage  hubs, improving their economic viability while strengthening rural food supply chains. The initiative intends to reduce foodgrain wastage, cut transportation costs for farmers, and  ensure  better  price  realization,  thus  improving  overall  market  efficiency  and financial sustainability of PACS. By empowering cooperatives with modern storage infrastructure,  this  initiative  aims  to  transform  rural  agricultural  supply  chains  and create long-term economic benefits for farmers.

Annexure - I State wise distribution of Cold Storages as on 30.01.2025 in the Country

| S. No.   | Name of the State              |   No. of Project |   Capacity (MT) |
|----------|--------------------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| 1        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) |                4 |            2210 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh & Telangana     |              480 |         1996340 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh              |                2 |            6000 |
| 4        | Assam                          |               43 |          206742 |
| 5        | Bihar                          |              316 |         1490200 |
| 6        | Chandigarh (UT)                |                7 |           12462 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                   |              130 |          577663 |
| 8        | Delhi                          |               97 |          129857 |
| 9        | Goa                            |               29 |            7705 |
| 10       | Gujarat                        |             1023 |         4042770 |
| 11       | Haryana                        |              386 |          870703 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh               |               89 |          181318 |
| 13       | Jammu & Kashmir                |               92 |          151833 |
| 14       | Jharkhand                      |               59 |          242655 |
| 15       | Karnataka                      |              268 |          912417 |
| 16       | Kerala                         |              202 |           96655 |
| 17       | Lakshadweep (UT)               |                1 |              15 |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh                 |              320 |         1381827 |
| 19       | Maharashtra                    |              665 |         1219851 |
| 20       | Manipur                        |                2 |            4500 |
| 21       | Meghalaya                      |                4 |            8200 |
| 22       | Mizoram                        |                3 |            4071 |
| 23       | Nagaland                       |                5 |            8150 |
| 24       | Orissa                         |              182 |          579321 |
| 25       | Pondicherry (UT)               |                4 |             185 |
| 26       | Punjab                         |              770 |         2604206 |
| 27       | Rajasthan                      |              190 |          648908 |
| 28       | Sikkim                         |                2 |            2100 |
| 29       | Tamil Nadu                     |              188 |          399690 |
| 30       | Telangana                      |              116 |          617131 |
| 31       | Tripura                        |               14 |           46354 |
| 32       | Uttar Pradesh                  |             2488 |        15096476 |
| 33       | Uttrakhand                     |               62 |          206848 |
| 34       | West Bengal                    |              517 |         5952997 |
|          | Total                          |             8760 |        39708361 |

(Source: Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) upto 2009, National Horticulture Board (NHB), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH)) and MoFPI

## Annexure - II

## State-wise details of 11 PACs in the country including Maharashtra

| S. No.   | States/UT      | District       | Name of PACS                                                        | Capacity of Godown (MT)   | Infrastructure created                            |
|----------|----------------|----------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Maharashtra    | Amravati       | Neripanglai Vividh Karyakari Sahakari Sanstha                       | 3,000                     | Godown                                            |
| 2.       | Uttar Pradesh  | Mirzapur       | Bahudeshiya Prathamik Grameen Sahakari Samiti Limited, Kotwa Panday | 1,500                     | Godown                                            |
| 3.       | Madhya Pradesh | Balaghat       | BahudeshiyaPrathamik Krishi SaakhSahakari Society Maryadit Parswada | 500                       | Godown + Paddy Primary processing unit            |
| 4.       | Gujarat        | Ahmedabad      | The Chandranagar Group Seva Sahakari Mandli Limited                 | 750                       | Godown                                            |
| 5.       | Tamil Nadu     | Theni          | Silamarathupatti Primary Agriculture Credit Society                 | 1,000                     | Godown                                            |
| 6.       | Rajasthan      | Sri Ganganagar | Ghumudwali Gram Seva Sahakari Samiti Limited                        | 250                       | Godown + Seed grading unit + Custom hiring center |
| 7.       | Telangana      | Karimnagar     | Primary Agriculture Credit Society Limited, Gambhiropet             | 500                       | Godown+ processing unit                           |
| 8.       | Karnataka      | Bidar          | Primary Agriculture Cooperative Federation Limited, Ekamba          | 1,000                     | Godown+ processing unit                           |
| 9.       | Tripura        | Gomati         | Khilpara Primary Agriculture Credit Society Limited                 | 250                       | Godown+ processing unit+Grameenhaat               |
| 10.      | Assam          | Kamrup         | 2 No. Pub Bongshar G.P.S.S Limited                                  | 500                       | Godown                                            |
| 11.      | Uttarakhand    | Dehradun       | Bahudeshiya Kisan Seva Sahakari Samiti Limited, Sahaspur            | 500                       | Godown                                            |
|          | Total          |                |                                                                     | 9,750                     |                                                   |

*****