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International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Conference
School of Mechanical Engineering
2022
Cold Storage in India for Small Farmers - Current Status and Cold Storage in India for Small Farmers - Current Status and
Challenges Challenges
Arunendra Tiwari
Harischander Harischander
Milind V Rane
Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iracc
Tiwari, Arunendra; Harischander, Harischander; and Rane, Milind V, "Cold Storage in India for Small
Farmers - Current Status and Challenges" (2022).
International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Conference.
Paper 2472.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iracc/2472
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Cold Storage in India for Small Farmers - Current Status and Challenges
Arunendra Tiwari
1
, Harischander
2
, Milind Rane
3
*,
1,2,3
IIT Bombay, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Heat Pump Laboratory
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
1
tiwariarunendra1989@gmail.com,
2
[email protected],
3
ranemv@iitb.ac.in
* Corresponding Author
ABSTRACT
India ranks 2
nd
in fruits and vegetable production in the world. It produces more than 100 x 10
6
metric tonne (MT)
of fruits and 200 x 10
6
MT of vegetables. Despite high levels of food production, India ranks only 101
th
out of 116
countries on the 2021 Global Hunger Index. Since fruits & vegetables are perishable, their magnitude of loss is
estimated at 35% to 40% in India resulting in a financial loss of 1,160.1 x 10
9
INR (15.2 x 10
9
USD). The deterioration
in the quality of produce after harvest is the result of physical, biochemical, physiological, and biological processes.
The rates of which are influenced primarily by product temperature and relative humidity (rh) in the vicinity, which
can be controlled by using cold storage (CS) technologies. The current cost of grid-powered micro cold stores is in
the range of 2.5 x 10
5
INR/TR (3,227.3 USD/TR), which is very high and not affordable for small farmers.
The manuscript presents a review of the commercial CS available in India, its technologies, cost, and problems
associated with its uses, particularly from a marginalized farmer’s point of view. The renewable energy-based micro
CSs installations, their advantages, and disadvantages are also discussed. Possible solutions for addressing the
challenges in the CS sector are also addressed. The manuscript also discusses the various Government of India
schemes for promoting CS in India.
1. INTRODUCTION
Fruits and vegetables are essential food items to provide a balanced and healthy diet to people. The horticulture
production in India is approx. 334.6 x 10
6
MT in the year 2020-21, which is an increase of 4.4% than production in
2019-20. According to the Government of India (GoI), the production of fruits and vegetables is found to be 102.5 x
10
6
MT and 200.4 x 10
6
MT respectively (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, 2022). Despite high levels of
food production, hunger, and malnourishment level is not going to reduce as set by 2030 in the country, and the world
(Agarwal et al., 2021; India - Global Hunger Index, 2021). The estimated post-harvest loss was found to be to the
tune of 9.3 x 10
11
INR (1.2 x 10
10
USD) at the average annual prices of 2014 in India for 45 selected crops (Jha et al.,
2016), which is 250% higher than the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare (MoA&FW) budget in the fiscal
year 2014.
The reasons for such high post-harvest losses are poor harvesting techniques, defects during sorting, improper storage,
traditional ripening practices, inappropriate and lack of processing units, poor transportation or delivery channels,
overproduction, fragmented supply chain, lack of cold chain, and extreme weather conditions (Agarwal et al., 2021).
The quality of harvested fruits and vegetables is determined by their growth conditions as well as physiological and
biochemical changes that occur after harvest. After harvest, fruit and vegetable cells are still alive and continue to
respirate. Fruit maturity is likely to have an impact on post-harvest quality and storage life. The quality of the fruits
is good if they are harvested at the correct stage of development. Early and late harvesting cause low quality and
uneven ripening, resulting in an exceptionally short shelf life(Planning Commission Government of India, 2003).
In a tropical country like India, one of the most important issues is the storage of fresh horticulture produce after
harvest. Vegetables and fruit have a short shelf life and are prone to spoilage due to their high moisture content.
Furthermore, they are living organisms that continue to transpire, breathe, and mature even after harvest. Fresh
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horticulture product metabolism continues after harvest, and the speed of deterioration increases as ripening, aging,
and adverse environmental variables increase. As a result, conserving these foods in their natural state necessitates
limiting chemical, biochemical, and physiological modifications. (Basediya et al., 2013).
These changes can be slowed down to a minimum by regulating the temperature and humidity around the produce
after the harvest using CS. The storage conditions and storage time for various products are listed in the American
Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Handbook on Refrigeration (ASHRAE,
2006). In India, the CS market is currently highly scattered and disorganized, with most facilities being put up on an
ad hoc basis by renters in the food, FMCG, and healthcare industries, or by their suppliers. As of 2020, India has only
8,186 CS with a capacity of 374.25 x 10
6
MT available in the country for storing perishable horticultural produce,
with 75% of them suited only for keeping single commodities, primarily potatoes. (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers
Welfare, 2020). A study on cold-chain infrastructure in India (All India cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity AICIC-
2015) implemented by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) consultancy service
(NABCONS) assessed the need for an extra 350 x 10
6
MT capacity of CS for fruits and vegetable storage in the year
2015. As the production of fruits and vegetables increased from 281 x 10
6
MT in the year 2015 to 334 x 10
6
MT in
2021 (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, 2018), the requirements for CS would have increased by the same
percentage approx. 19%.
Farm
(Point of harvest)
Processing/
Packaging
Dealers
Precooling Cold Storage Point of Sale
Figure 1: Fruits and Vegetables Supply Chain in India
The reasons for such low penetration of CS in India are the high initial investment, high operating costs due to the use
of diesel generators to provide uninterrupted power, limited focus on CS needs, highly fragmented industry, uneven
distribution of CS, (71% of CS supply located in only four states), lack of support infrastructure including effective
transport and 24/7 power (Bala et al., 2021). Figure 1 represents India's ideal and actual supply chain of fruits and
vegetables. Ideally, the produce from the farm should be precooled first, followed by storage in a cold chamber, and
before going point of sale, it should be packed and transported in refrigerated vehicles. Because of the nonavailability
of CS, the farmers are forced to sell their products as soon as the produce is harvested. This results in stress sales,
more wastage of produce, reduction in profits, and income of the farmer, which is already very less. Food loss has a
multiplier effect on other inputs such as water, electricity, and fertilizers wastage. It also increases greenhouse gas
emissions.
Many studies conducted in India asserted the need for affordable CS at the village level to minimize distress sales and
wastage, enable stability in the price throughout the year, improve the export of horticulture produce and increase the
profits realized by farmers (Banik, 2017; Bhanot et al., 2021; Cooper et al., 2021; Nuthalapati et al., 2020; Roy &
Thorat, 2008). The cost of commercial CSs is very high, vague, nonuniform, and nonstandardized in India resulting
in low penetration and use by farmers. GoI developed many policies to support farmers and small entrepreneurs in
setting up CS facilities due to the importance of cold chain facilities for horticulture storage. These policies are
implemented through various Government agencies for a different set of end-users. There is a need to summarise the
various policies of the agencies for a better understanding of the applicability and propagation of these schemes and
to identify the possibilities for improving the techno-economic of CS.
The paper presents a review of the commercial small and micro CS available in India, its technologies, cost, and issues
associated with its uses, particularly from a marginal farmer’s point of view. It also presents renewable energy-based
micro CSs installations, their advantages, and disadvantages. Techno-economics of renewable energy-based micro
cold stores along with the way forward for addressing the challenges is presented. The authors have also presented
the various GoI schemes for promoting CS in India.
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2. COLD STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES IN INDIA
In this section, the CS based on various technologies are discussed. The section discusses vapor compression
refrigeration system (VCRS), vapor sorption refrigeration system (VSRS), and evaporative cooling system (ECS)
technologies based on which small and micro CS are commercially available in the Indian market and summarized in
Table 1.
2.1 Vapor Compression Refrigeration System
Most of India’s small and micro CS are based on VCRS technology and are ideal for small applications because they
are reasonably simple and require little maintenance. The refrigeration unit (RU) contains two heat exchangers
(condenser and evaporator), a compressor, and an expansion valve. Most of the small CS in India use R-22, R-407F,
and R-404A refrigerants. The operating temperature with R-407F is above 0
o
C, and with R404A it is below 0
o
C. R-
22 has to be phased out in the new system by 2023 and completely phased out by 2030 and other refrigerants used in
CS in India are also having higher GWP will be phased out from 2028.(MoEF&CC, 2017) The cost of CS based on
VCRS is 1.75 x 10
5
to 4 x 10
5
INR /TR (2,292 to 5,240 USD/TR) or 1 x 10
5
to 3 x 10
5
INR/ MT (1,310 to 3,930
USD/MT). The biggest problem with VCRS-based CS is their high initial cost and very high operating cost. Low
reliability of grid supply necessitates the use of backup generator sets, which increases the initial cost, and due to the
high cost of diesel, the cost per unit of generated power is 3 to 4 times higher than grid power. The cost of producing
power from the gen-set is 25 to 30 INR/kWh (0.33 to 0.39 USD/kWh). The refrigerant being used are also having a
high global warming potential (GWP). Although 35% to 50% Government subsidy is available for CS installations,
its high operating cost is a big hindrance to its penetration in India. Realizing this, many manufacturers have come
up with solar energy-based CS. Thermal storage (TS) based solar CS is also developed and commercially available in
India to make CS grid-free without using costly batteries. GoI has also drafted policies and recommendations to
support the small capacity solar CS with TS and discussed in section 3.
2.2 Vapor Sorption Refrigeration System
The VSRS system is extensively presented and studied (Fan et al., 2007). VAbM uses a liquid-gas working pair, i.e.
a working fluid that is a mixture of a refrigerant and an absorbent. Whereas in VAdM, solid-gas pair is used. There
are few manufacturers of CS with sorption technology in India and most of them are making in big TR capacity with
very high initial cost and not affordable to farmers. The small and micro CS based on sorption technology is even
fewer in India, some of them are listed in Table 1. The cost of CS based on VSRS is 2.9 x 10
5
to 4.7 x 10
5
INR/TR
(3,800 to 6,157 USD/TR). The cost of the VSRS system is more compared to VCRS.
2.3 Evaporative Cooling System
India is a tropical country for most of the part. ECS is extensively used in rural India for horticulture produce storage
because of the minimum initial and operating costs. Using ECS, the temperature of the ambient around the product
can be reduced by 5
o
C to 20
o
C below the environment temperature. Authors found few standard commercial CS based
on ECS technology in India claiming certain performance parameters. Sabji cooler (Rukart, 2022) is one innovation,
claiming 3 to 6 days shelf life improvement of horticulture produce using 15 to 20 L of water and no electricity.
SunFridge CS is based on hybrid VCRS and ECS technology, during the daytime VCRS and ECS, both systems are
operated and used to cool the CS. During the night only ECS is operated and CS is cooled. The details of the SunFridge
are summarized in Table 1. Out of all the commercial small CS reviewed, hybrid CS is the lowest cost, casting 3.3 x
10
5
INR/TR (4,323 USD/TR) for refrigeration unit (RU), 5 kW PV array, CR and TS. The problem with the ECS-
based CS is, the inability to maintain the temperature in the range of 0
o
C to 5
o
C. Even the hybrid CS with VCM and
ECS technology can maintain the temperature in the range of 8
o
C to 14
o
C.
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Table 1: Commercial Micro Cold Stores in India
(All of the information shown below is based on open literature and is merely intended to be indicative)
Sr
#
OEM
Technology
t
cs
Storage
Size
Unit
Cost
Remark
Ref.
o
C
10
5
INR
INR/TR
Cost
includes
INR/MT
1
A
VCM+ECS
8 to
14
Thermal
_SE
1.5
TR
5
3.3 x 10
5
CR + RU
+ TS + PV
(Chopr
a et al.,
2021)
2
MT
27
m
3
2.5 x 10
5
2
B
VCM_DX_
R404A
4
Thermal
_LH_200
MJ
3.6
TR
14.6
2.8 x 10
5
CR + RU
+ TS + PV
(Inficol
d,
2021)
5
MT
2.9 x 10
5
3
C
VCM_
R407F
4 to
10
Thermal
_LH_20
h
1.5
to
2.7
TR
6
4 x 10
5
RU + TS
(ecoze
n,
2019)
5
MT
4
D
VCM_R404
A
2 to
20
With and
without
TS
2
TR
3.5
1.75 x
10
5
RU
(ICE
Make,
2021)
3 to
5
MT
1 x 10
5
5
E
VCM_R407
F
0 to
2
Thermal,
Grid,
and/or
DG set
4 to
5
MT
-
-
-
(Singh
sons
Refrige
ration,
2021)
34
m
3
6
F
VCM_
R407F
5 to
8
Thermal,
Grid,
and/or
DG set
2
TR
8 to
12
3.5 to 4 x
10
5
CR + RU
+ TS + PV
(Bharat
Refrige
rations,
2021)
5
MT
27
m
3
7
G
VCM_R22
&R404A
0 to
10
-
3
TR
-
-
RU
(Polfro
st,
2021)
8
H
VAdM_Wat
er-Silica Gel
10
to
15
-
2.84
TR
10
3.5 x 10
5
VAM
(Bry-
Air,
2017)
9
I
VAdM_NH
3
-Carbon
0
-
3
TR
14
4.7 x 10
5
VAM+CR
(New
Leaf,
2021)
10
J
VAdM
7 to
12
-
5
TR
14.5
2.9 x 10
5
VAM
(Techn
odyne,
2021)
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3. GOI POLICIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COLD STORES
3.1 Cold Storage Policies in India
Cold-chain logistics is a development priority, and it is seen as a component of the second green revolution. It is an
end-to-end logistics bridge that ensures continuous custody of the value harvested at farm-gate all the way to end
consumers The Indian government along with state governments is encouraging the development of cold-chain
technologies through the Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Horticulture Board
(NHB), National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) by providing the capital investment
subsidy scheme for construction or expansion or modernization of CS.
Credit Linked Back-ended Subsidy Scheme (CLBSS) is a subsidy policy for the construction or expansion or
modernization of CS, providing 35% to 40% of the capital cost of the project limited to 30 x 10
5
INR (39,302 USD)
for general areas and 50% of the capital cost of project limited to 37.5 x 10
5
INR (49,127 USD) for the Northeast
region, Hilly states, and Scheduled areas (like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andaman &
Nicobar, and Lakshadweep) in India. The summary of various subsidy schemes provided to farmers and small
entrepreneurs for CS installation per MT is given below in Table 2.
NABARD is a national bank and acts as a credit for all agriculture activities to support technology upgradations for
Micro and Small Enterprises in India. It gives 12% to 15% of the capital cost with a cap of 15 x 10
5
INR (19,651
USD) under CLCSS. NHB follows the CLBSS for setting up CS of capacity above 5000 MT and up to 10,000 MT,
and for the CS capacity below 5,000 MT is assisted by National Horticulture Mission (NHM). MIDH follows the
same norms as followed by NHB for setting up a CS. In addition, they assist 15 x 10
5
INR (19,651 USD)/unit (5
MTs), or 50% of the total cost for solar CS. They also provide 25.0 x 10
5
INR (32,751 USD)/ unit with a batch
capacity of 6 MT for setting up a pre-cooling unit. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) follows the
same norms as MIDH for solar CS. Development of Agriculture Cooperation (DAC) follows the NHM norms with a
little change in subsidy amount. They provide 2,000 INR/MT lower than NHM. Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) provides financial aid for the establishment of CS facilities, up to
40% of the total capital cost with a ceiling of 25 x 10
5
INR (32,751 USD). For subsidy calculations of the CR size,
3.4 m
3
(120 ft
3
) is considered equivalent to 1 MT storage capacity (NPCS, 2016).
Overall through various agencies and policies, GoI is providing financial assistance for conventional CS in the range
of 5,000 to 8,000 INR/MT (65 to 104 USD/MT) with a ceiling of 35% to 50% of the total capital cost. Additional
subsidies are also provided for setting up precooling, controlled atmosphere (CA) CS in the range of 10,000 to 32,000
INR (131 to 419 USD). For solar-powered CS, the applicable subsidies of 3 x 10
5
INR/MT (3,930 USD/MT) are
provided. Authors feel that a single-window subsidy system combining different agencies and uniform guidelines
will result in better utilization of funds. This will also minimize the confusion among all the stakeholders
Table 2: Cold Store Policies in India
Sr #
Agency
Item
Cost Norms
Pattern
Assistan
ce
Reference
1
NABARD
Technology Upgradation
12% to 15% of capital cost
CLCSS
(MSME
Govt of
India,
2015)
2
NHM
Type 1: Single temp zone with
a large chamber (>250 MT)
Up to 35% of total capital cost
CLBSS
(National
Horticultur
e Board,
2021)
8,000 INR/MT, (max 5,000
MT)
Type 2: Multiple temp zone,
>6 chamber <250 MT
10,000 INR/MT, (max 5,000
MT)
CS Units Type 2 with add on
technology for CA
Additional 10,000 INR/MT
3
NHB
Type 1: Single temp zone in
the large CR (>250 MT)
Up to 35% of total capital cost
CLBSS
(National
Horticultur
8,000 INR/MT, (5,000-10,000
MT)
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Type 2: Multiple temp zone,
>6 chamber <250 MT
10,000 INR/MT, (5,000-
10,000 MT)
e Board,
2021)
CS Units Type 2 with add on
technology for CA
Additional 10,000 INR/MT
4
MIDH
Follows NHB Norms
Follows NHB Norms
CLBSS
(MIDH,
2020)
Solar-powered CR
15 x 10
5
INR/units (5 MTs) or
50% of the total cost
Precooling Unit
25.0 x 10
5
INR/ unit with a
batch capacity of 6 MT
5
MNRE
Solar CS (4-5 MT)
15 x 10
5
INR/units (5 MTs)
50% of the total cost
(MNRE,
2021)
Product type: Energy
Efficient/Solar
Powered/Hybrid (Wind+Solar)
6
DAC
Follows NHM Norms
Max storage capacity of 5000
MT per project 6000 INR/MT
CLBSS
(Ananth,
2015)
For CA storage 32000
INR/MT for 5000 MT
7
APEDA
CSs
40% of the cost of the
equipment with a ceiling of 25
x 10
5
INR
(APEDA,
2022)
3.2 GoI Recommendations for Cold Storage
India has a very low penetration of CS and GoI agencies had the opportunity to formulate the policies in such a way
that the growth in the CS sector is sustainable and environmentally friendly at the same time economical. In this
section, the various policies related to renewable energy-based CS in India are summarised and presented. MNRE's
recommendation for renewable energy-based CS is given in Table 3. The manufacturers are guided in designing
renewable energy-based small capacity CS in the range of 3 to 15 MT for small farmers. This will facilitate the lower
operating cost of CS. The minimum specifications of thermal backup for 12 h with the required photovoltaic (PV)
size for 5 MT and 10 MT capacity CS are presented in Table 4. The GoI recommends manufacturers use low GWP
refrigerants in CS.
Table 3: MNRE recommendation (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, 2021b)
Cold Store,
and Rooms
Sr
#
Machinery
Product Type
Motor
Capacity
MT
1
Solar Cold
Store
Energy Efficient/ Solar
Powered/Hybrid (Wind+Solar)
AC compressor
4 to 15
2
Cold Room
Biomass powered
Very small (mainly
thermal adsorption)
10 to 15
3
Walk-in Cold
Rooms
Energy Efficient/ Solar
Powered/Hybrid (Wind+Solar)
2 to 5 Ton Cooling
AC /DC
3 to 8
Table 4: Recommendations for Solar Cold Store with TES Backup for 5 MT and 10 MT Capacity (Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy, 2021a)
Particulars
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Version 4
Unit
Storage capacity
5
5
10
10
MT
Min solar PV capacity
5
7
10
14
kWp
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Min thermal backup
125
175
250
350
MJ
Min compressor capacity
2
2
4
4
TR
Min pre-cooling capacity only with
thermal back-up
500 within
12 h
750 within
12 h
1000 within
12 h
1500 within
12 h
kg
Min internal vol of CR
750
750
1500
1500
ft
3
Insulation
100 mm PUF or 150 mm EPS or equivalent
Refrigerant
R-407F/R-134a or any other with Zero ODP and GWP <2000
Operation of compressor power circuit
Compressor power line should not be operated using batteries
Remote monitoring
GPRS or Wi-Fi Connectivity
Remote Parameters
CR temperature, humidity, Ambient temperature, Solar power, Grid
power utilization, Compressor speed, and on-off state
Power supply
Solar PV as well as a grid with auto-switching based availability
4. CHALLENGES ALONG WITH POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
The challenges identified along with possible solutions to improve the techno-economic viability of micro cold stores
are summarized hereafter.
a. Operating compressors only during solar availability restricts the operating hours typically in the range of 4
to 6 h, which increases the capacity and size of the compressors and refrigeration components like evaporator,
condenser, and thermal storage. A possible solution is to extend the compressor operating hours in the range
of 8 to 12 h by suitably integrating with micro windmills without having to use battery backup and ensure
grid-independent installation. A big advantage of extended operating hours with smaller compressor/s and
associated components will reduce initial cost and improve system performance.
b. It was observed that small compressors which are needed for small cold stores are not efficient as compared
to larger compressors. There is a need to identify/develop an efficient small compressor capable of handling
low GWP refrigerants like R-290, R-600a, and R-32.
c. Development of low-cost IT-enabled controller to run small capacity inverter coupled compressor to run as
per the available renewable power at any given time.
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The objective of the manuscript was to review the commercial CS available in India, its technologies, cost, and
problems associated with its uses, particularly from a small farmer’s point of view with GoI initiatives in the promotion
of CS. The conclusions drawn from the study and the authors’ recommendations for addressing the challenges in the
CS sector are presented below.
India is the second-largest producer of horticulture, producing 334.6 x 10
6
T in 2020-21. Despite large production,
India ranked 101
th
out of 116 countries in GHI. The main reason for the same is attributed to 35% to 40% loss of
productivity amounting to 9.3 x 10
11
INR (1.2 x 10
10
USD) at average annual prices of 2014. These losses can be
minimized by maintaining optimum temperature and rh around produce using cold chain technologies.
In India, the CS market is currently highly scattered and disorganized, amounting to only 8,186 CS with a capacity of
374.25 x 10
6
MT as of 2020, with 75% of them suited for potatoes only. India needs an extra 416 x 10
6
MT capacity
of CS for fruits and vegetable storage.
The cost of commercial CSs is very high, and nonstandardized in India, the high operating costs, and interrupted power
result in low penetration and use by farmers
Most of the small CS based on VCRS in India use R-407F and R-404A refrigerants. Normally systems operating
above 0
o
C use R-407F and below 0
o
C, R-404A is used. The cost CS based on VCRS is 1.75 x 10
5
to 4 x 10
5
INR/TR
(2,292 to 5,240 USD/TR) or 1 x 10
5
to 3 x 10
5
INR/MT (1,310 to 3,930 USD/MT). The cost of CS based on VSRS is
2.9 x 10
5
to 4.7 x 10
5
INR/TR (3,800 to 6,157 USD/TR).
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GoI is encouraging the development of cold-chain technologies through the MIDH, NHB, and NABARD by proving
35% to 50% of subsidy in CS. Despite proving subsidies, the penetration of CS is limited because of high operating
costs.
Development should be targeted for small-size compressors capable of handling low GWP refrigerants like R-290, R-
600a, and R-32.
Authors feel that a single-window subsidy system (example: solar rooftop scheme and PM solar pump scheme)
combining different agencies and uniform guidelines will result in better utilization of funds. This will also minimize
the confusion among all the stakeholders.
The use of solar energy with wind power and thermal storage can reduce the operating cost and improve the reliability
of systems.
NOMENCLATURE
AC alternate current
AICIC all India cold-chain infrastructure capacity
APEDA Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
CLBSS credit linked back-ended subsidy scheme
CLCSS credit linked capital subsidy scheme
CR cold room
CS cold storage
DAC development of agriculture cooperation
DC direct current
DX direct expansion
EPS expanded polystyrene
ECS evaporative cooling system
GPRS general packet radio service
GoI Government of India
GWP global warming potential
INR Indian national rupee
MIDH Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture
MNRE Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
MoA&FW Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare
MT metric tonne
NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NABCONS National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development consultancy services
NHB National Horticulture Board
NHM National Horticulture Mission
NIIR National Institute of Industrial Research
NPCS National Institute of Industrial Research project consultancy services
ODP ozone depletion potential
PUF polyurethane foam
PV photovoltaic
R-404A zeotropic composition of R-125/R-143a/R-134a (44/52/4)
R-407F zeotropic composition of R-134a/R-125/R-32 (40/30/30)
RH relative humidity
RU refrigeration unit
SE sensible energy
TES thermal energy storage
TR ton of refrigeration
TS thermal storage
USD united states dollar
VAbM vapor absorption machine
VAdM vapor adsorption machine
VCM vapor compression machine
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VARS vapor absorption refrigeration system
VCRS vapor compression refrigeration system
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Partial support from NTPC through consultancy project: RD/0220-MENTPCL-022 is gratefully acknowledged.