Before you spend money: cost norms, rates and conditions can be changed by the Government. This page explains the April 2025 MIDH operational guidelines as written. Confirm the current position with your State Horticulture Department before committing to a project.
Post-harvest components behave differently from field components. They are entrepreneur-driven, generally financed through a bank, and the money arrives at the end.
The 5,000 MT line
Cold storages for long-term storage up to 5,000 MT capacity are promoted under the NHM and HMNEH sub-schemes. Capacity above 5,000 MT and up to 20,000 MT is promoted under the NHB sub-scheme instead. A project may be built larger, but subsidy under NHM is restricted to 5,000 MT.
This is why the same cold storage project can be described as “NHB” by one consultant and “NHM” by another. The capacity decides which door you are at.
Construction type changes the norm
For cold storage, civil construction carries ₹9,600 per MT, while civil construction with a pre-engineered building carries ₹12,000 per MT. The choice of construction method therefore changes the recognised cost, not just the build time.
The 35% pattern
Integrated pack houses, collection and aggregation centres, pre-cooling units, staging cold rooms, ripening chambers and the main cold storage types are assisted at 35% in general areas, as credit-linked back-ended assistance.
Two components sit outside that pattern: a farm gate pack house and low-cost onion or garlic storage are assisted at 50%, with credit linkage applying to onion storage above a stated project cost.
What credit-linked back-ended means in practice
- You need a sanctioned loan from a bank or financial institution before the subsidy has a route.
- The assistance is settled after completion and verification, usually against the loan account.
- Your own funds and the loan carry the whole project through construction.
Anyone offering to arrange “subsidy first” on a cold storage project is describing something the guidelines do not provide for.
Standards
Post-harvest infrastructure is expected to follow the relevant NCCD standards. Specification shortcuts at the build stage are a common reason for a claim failing at inspection.
