National Horticulture Board clears record 1,278 pending subsidy applications
12 May 2021
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National Horticulture Board (NHB), an autonomous organisation under the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare has cleared a record 1,278 subsidy applications for integrated development of hi-tech commercial horticulture in the country, including promotion of post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure, during the last one year.
During the last year, subsidy has been released to 357 beneficiaries while 921 new projects have been approved. A team of the NHB worked in a campaign mode to complete the work which has been pending since long.
The NHB has also taken varous steps for ease of doing business by simplification of scheme guideline, documentation and processing of new applications. During the last one year, the subsidy has been released to 357 beneficiaries while 921 new projects have been approved.
NHB has also facilitated the convergence of its back-ended capital investment subsidy schemes with the Agri Infrastructure Fund Scheme of the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare to encourage farmers and entrepreneurs to take advantage of subvention of 3 per cent interest on the loan with credit guarantee coverage for a loan of up to Rs2 crore for setting up post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure in the horticulture sector.
The back ended capital investment subsidy schemes of NHB not only have been attracting huge investment from the private sector into the horticulture sector but are also instrumental in the indigenisation of cost-effective greenhouse and cold chain technologies in the country.
Schemes of NHB have been able to establish a large area under protected cultivation for commercially important flower and high-value vegetable crops and also a sizeable cold storage capacity in the country. With the financial support of NHB, an additional area of 2,210 acres under hi-tech commercial horticulture, both in open and protected cultivation has been brought under horticulture. Also additional cold storage capacity of 1.15 lakh tonnes has been created under the Cold Storage Scheme of NHB.
