<p> The government today approved setting up of a national centre for cold chain development and allocated a one-time grant of Rs 25 crore for its corpus fund.<br /><br />The decision comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore annually in absence of proper storage facilities.<br /><br />"The Union Cabinet today gave its ex-post facto approval for registering National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with its Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations," an official statement said.<br /><br />It also approved a sum of Rs 25 crore as one time grant for setting up a corpus fund for NCCD, it added.<br /><br />The centre will be run by a 22-member governing council under the chairmanship of a secretary. The members will comprise various government officials, representative from industry bodies like CII, FICCI and stakeholders like growers, cold chain equipment manufacturers, etc, it said.<br /><br />India -- the world's second largest producer of horticulture products -- accounts for 71.5 million tonnes (MT) of fruits, 133.7 MT of vegetables and 17.8 MT of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey, etc.<br /><br />However, a significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers goes waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities.<br /><br />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 Rs 50,000 crore annually.<br />Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force on cold chain development to assess the situation.<br /><br />The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development.</p>
<p> The government today approved setting up of a national centre for cold chain development and allocated a one-time grant of Rs 25 crore for its corpus fund.<br /><br />The decision comes in the wake of post harvest losses to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore annually in absence of proper storage facilities.<br /><br />"The Union Cabinet today gave its ex-post facto approval for registering National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with its Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations," an official statement said.<br /><br />It also approved a sum of Rs 25 crore as one time grant for setting up a corpus fund for NCCD, it added.<br /><br />The centre will be run by a 22-member governing council under the chairmanship of a secretary. The members will comprise various government officials, representative from industry bodies like CII, FICCI and stakeholders like growers, cold chain equipment manufacturers, etc, it said.<br /><br />India -- the world's second largest producer of horticulture products -- accounts for 71.5 million tonnes (MT) of fruits, 133.7 MT of vegetables and 17.8 MT of other commodities like flowers, spices, coconut, cashew, mushroom, honey, etc.<br /><br />However, a significant portion of the produce like fruits, vegetables, flowers goes waste due to post harvest losses in absence of proper cold storage facilities.<br /><br />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 Rs 50,000 crore annually.<br />Earlier the government had constituted a Task Force on cold chain development to assess the situation.<br /><br />The Task Force had recommended formation of a dedicated institution for promoting cold chain development.</p>