NHB Revised Financial Assistance for Cold Storage

The National Horticulture Board (NHB), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has revised its guidelines for financial assistance under the Commercial Horticulture and Cold Storage Scheme through a Public Circular dated 21 August 2026. The revised provisions are effective immediately.

For cold storage projects in General Areas, financial assistance continues at 35% of the eligible project cost. For eligible projects in specified special areas, the assistance rate has been revised from 50% to 45%.

A major change is the introduction of an explicit maximum NHB subsidy of ₹2 crore for any type of cold storage project. The revised guidelines also clarify that the cost of land will not be included in the eligible project cost.

The new provisions introduce stricter family-level eligibility rules. The applicant, spouse, father, mother, sons and daughters are treated as one family for NHB financial assistance, and generally only one member of the family can avail assistance under NHB schemes, subject to applicable provisions. Assistance taken by one family member will be treated as assistance availed by the family, even if the full maximum subsidy limit has not been utilised.

The revised guidelines also provide for voluntary exit from the scheme during the lock-in period, subject to refund of the subsidy and applicable interest. Pending and ongoing applications and subsidy claims will be considered by NHB on a case-by-case basis.

Overall, the 2026 amendment should not be viewed as an increase in cold storage subsidy. While the 35% assistance in General Areas remains unchanged, the revised rules introduce a ₹2 crore maximum cap, exclude land cost from the subsidy calculation, and tighten family-level eligibility. In specified special areas, the assistance rate has been reduced from 50% to 45%.