Report of the Committee on Encouraging Investments in Supply Chains Including Provision for Cold Storages for More Efficient Distribution of Farm Produce

The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) aimed at achieving a faster and more inclusive growth in order to generate income and employment opportunities needed for improving the living standards of the population, especially the disadvantaged, and to generate resources required for financing social sector programmes. Overall investment in agriculture, which had dipped to less than 10 per cent of Farm Sector-GDP in 2002-03 has increased substantially and presently stands at more than 20 per cent of the Farm Sector-GDP. At the outset of the Twelfth Plan (2012–17), the Indian economy is faced with many challenges, emanating first from the weakness in the global economy and high inflation and slower-than-desired investment growth at home.Visualizing and encouraging both farmer cooperatives/producer companies and private enterprises to establish the cold chain network. Private enterprise would include all manner of outside investors – from standalone investors to processing companies and retail chains. The policy would actively encourage existing commission agents to set up cold chain facilities. FDI in cold chain must be encouraged