Cold storage business in India: subsidy, licence and list

The quick answer

A cold storage business in India rents temperature-controlled space to farmers, traders, food processors and distributors, or stores its owner's own produce until prices rise. India had 8,815 cold storages with 402.18 lakh tonnes of capacity on 30 June 2025, according to the government. A new unit usually needs a state cold storage licence where the state has a cold storage law, FSSAI registration or a licence for storing food, and a bank loan sized to the capacity. Most new units also use one of four central schemes: the MIDH or NHB subsidy of 35% of project cost (50% in the North East, hill states and scheduled areas), the PMKSY cold chain grant of up to ₹10 crore, or an Agriculture Infrastructure Fund loan with 3% interest subvention. This guide covers the official figures, the subsidy rules and cost norms, a worked example, the licence steps, and the businesses that sell to cold stores and rent space in them. It also shows what Starleads' own data holds.

Cold storage in India: the official figures

The Press Information Bureau's September 2025 note "From Harvest to Home" gives the national count: 8,815 cold storages with a combined capacity of 402.18 lakh metric tonnes as of 30 June 2025. It describes the wider cold chain as pre-cooling, weighing, sorting, grading, packaging, controlled atmosphere (CA) storage, blast freezing and refrigerated transport such as reefer vans. The same note shows how much money has gone into storage around cold stores:

• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF): ₹73,155 crore sanctioned for 1.27 lakh projects by September 2025, "including thousands of warehouses and cold stores", with a total project cost of ₹1.17 lakh crore.
• Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI): 49,796 storage projects sanctioned in 27 states by 30 June 2025, with 982.94 lakh tonnes of capacity and ₹4,829.37 crore of subsidy paid. AMI covers godowns and warehouses, not refrigerated space.
• PMKSY: 1,601 projects approved across its components by June 2025, of which 1,133 are working, with 255.66 lakh tonnes a year of processing and preservation capacity.

Two things follow for anyone planning a unit. First, the market is large and spread out: 8,815 units means an average of roughly 4,560 tonnes each, so a typical cold store is a mid-sized, often family-run business, not a corporate chain. Second, the government still funds new capacity, which is why subsidy rules shape most project plans. None of the official notes we read gives occupancy or rental rates by district, so that part of the homework is yours (step 1 below).

Types of cold storage and what each one stores

"Cold storage" covers several kinds of unit. They differ in temperature, cost and who rents them. NHB's scheme guideline sorts subsidised units by build type, and the cold chain scheme adds the links on either side of the store.

Type	What it is	Typical goods	Who rents or owns it
Single-commodity bulk store (NHB Type 1)	A basic structure with large chambers (over 250 tonnes each) held at one temperature	Potatoes, and other produce stored for months after harvest	Farmers and potato traders who rent space for the season; the owner often trades too
Multi-commodity store (NHB Type 2)	Pre-engineered building with more than six chambers of under 250 tonnes at different temperatures, with material handling equipment	Fruit, vegetables, spices, dry fruits, seeds, dairy products	Traders, exporters, processors and wholesalers who need different temperatures
Controlled atmosphere (CA) store	A Type 2 store with CA generators and gas-tight doors that control oxygen and carbon dioxide	Apples and other temperate fruit, in growing areas	Fruit growers' groups and traders, mostly in hill states
Frozen store and blast freezer	Very low-temperature chambers, with freezing before storage	Meat, fish, frozen vegetables, ice cream, ready-to-cook foods	Processors, exporters, food service and quick-service restaurant supply chains
Ripening chamber	Small rooms that ripen fruit under controlled ethylene and temperature	Bananas, mangoes, papayas	Fruit wholesalers near city markets
Pack house and pre-cooling unit	Farm-level unit that sorts, grades, packs and quickly cools produce before storage or transport	Fresh produce at the farm gate	Farmer producer organisations and exporters; PMKSY's cold chain scheme funds farm-level infrastructure only when it is linked to a distribution hub or reefer transport

Pick the type from the crop and the buyers near your site, not from the subsidy. A potato store in a potato belt fills up every season but stands mostly empty after the stock goes out. A multi-commodity store near a city fills more slowly but can earn all year. NHB's guideline counts 3.4 cubic metres (120 cubic feet) of chamber volume as one tonne of storage capacity. Use the same measure when you compare quotes from builders.

Cold storage subsidy: the four schemes compared

The PIB note on the Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure scheme (October 2025) sets the central schemes side by side. The table summarises it. Rates are a share of eligible project cost, not of what you spend.

Scheme	Run by	What it funds	Support	Who applies, and how
MIDH (Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture)	Ministry of Agriculture, through State Horticulture Missions	Building, expanding and modernising cold storages of up to 5,000 tonnes	Credit-linked back-ended subsidy of 35% of project cost; 50% in the North East, hill states and scheduled areas	Entrepreneurs, through the state's horticulture mission, within the state's annual action plan
NHB Capital Investment Subsidy	National Horticulture Board	Cold storages and CA stores for horticulture produce, 5,000 to 20,000 tonnes (PIB, 2025)	Credit-linked back-ended subsidy of 35% of capital cost; 50% in the North East, hill states and scheduled areas	Entrepreneurs, online on the NHB website after registering, with a bank term loan
PMKSY Integrated Cold Chain (ICCVAI)	Ministry of Food Processing Industries	Integrated chains: farm-level infrastructure linked to a distribution hub and/or reefer transport. Dairy, meat, poultry, fish and non-horticulture produce; fruit and vegetables moved to Operation Greens in June 2022	Grant of 35% of eligible cost; 50% in difficult areas and for SC/ST groups, FPOs and SHGs; up to ₹10 crore a project	Individuals, FPOs, companies, cooperatives, NGOs, PSUs and SHGs, when the ministry invites proposals (EOIs)
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)	Ministry of Agriculture, through banks	Post-harvest assets including cold stores, warehouses, sorting and grading units, and ripening chambers	Collateral-free term loans of up to ₹2 crore with 3% a year interest subvention	Eligible borrowers, through a lending bank

Three rules catch applicants out:

• "Credit-linked back-ended" means the bank comes first. You take a term loan and build, and the subsidy follows once the project is complete and checked. It does not pay for construction as you go, so plan your funding without it.
• PMKSY does not fund standalone cold stores. The ministry's annexure to Rajya Sabha question 578 (7 February 2025) says: "Under PMKSY standalone Cold storages/ frozen storage/ CA/ MA are not supported." It lists 643 storages approved for captive use under PMKSY since 2017, with 241.33 lakh tonnes a year of capacity; Maharashtra leads with 93. For a plain rental cold store, MIDH or NHB is the route.
• Standards are a condition, not advice. NHB's guideline says projects must follow the technical standards and protocols of the National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD), "else the project is not eligible for any financial assistance". An NHB-empanelled agency checks the technical design.

Cost norms and a worked example

NHB's scheme guideline for cold storages (Scheme 2 on nhb.gov.in, read on 12 November 2026) sets the cost per tonne on which the subsidy is calculated. Up to 5,000 tonnes, the norm is ₹8,000 a tonne for a Type 1 basic store and ₹10,000 a tonne for a Type 2 pre-engineered multi-chamber store. Bigger units get a lower rate per tonne: for Type 1, ₹7,600 from 5,001 to 6,500 tonnes, ₹7,200 up to 8,000 tonnes and ₹6,800 up to 10,000 tonnes. CA technology adds ₹10,000 a tonne, and modernisation of an existing store ₹5,000 a tonne. The subsidy is paid against original invoices, with an overall cap of ₹7.50 crore in that guideline. The guideline on the site describes 5,000 to 10,000 tonne projects, while PIB's 2025 note says NHB now covers 5,000 to 20,000 tonnes. Ask NHB which version applies before you file.

Here is how the arithmetic works for a 5,000-tonne store. These are the norm-based figures used to work out the subsidy, not a quote for building one:

1. Type 1 store, general area: 5,000 × ₹8,000 = ₹4 crore eligible cost. 35% = ₹1.40 crore subsidy.
2. Type 2 store, general area: 5,000 × ₹10,000 = ₹5 crore eligible cost. 35% = ₹1.75 crore.
3. Type 2 store in a hill state or the North East: the same ₹5 crore at 50% = ₹2.50 crore.

If your actual cost is higher than the norm, the subsidy is still worked out on the norm, and you fund the rest. Land is not in the per-tonne norm, and neither is your working capital. The guideline also lists add-ons with their own caps: refrigeration upgrades at 50% of invoice up to ₹100 lakh (₹2,500 a tonne), insulation repair at 50% up to ₹100 lakh (₹1,500 a tonne), solar PV or vapour absorption systems up to ₹35 lakh, and WDRA warehouse-receipt equipment up to ₹2 lakh.

Your running costs come from electricity, labour, maintenance contracts, insurance and finance charges. Electricity tariffs for cold stores differ from state to state, so get your state electricity regulator's current tariff order before you trust any profit figure, including those in online business plans.

How to start a cold storage business, step by step

1. Survey demand in your district. The official figures give capacity, not occupancy or rents, so ask the mandi, potato and fruit traders, processors and the existing stores what they pay, when they are full and what goods are turned away. Our list below shows the stores Starleads has on file in your state, a starting point for calls.
2. Choose the type and size from that survey: a seasonal bulk store, a multi-commodity store, a frozen store or a ripening unit. Use the 3.4 cubic metres per tonne rule to turn chamber plans into tonnes.
3. Set up the business: a proprietorship, partnership, LLP or company, with PAN and a current account. Then GST registration and Udyam registration, which many banks and state schemes ask for.
4. Get state permissions before you build. In states with a cold storage law, you need permission to build and a licence to operate (see the next section). Depending on the state and the site, ask the local authorities about building plan approval, pollution control consent and fire safety clearance as well.
5. Prepare a detailed project report to NCCD standards and have it checked: refrigeration design, insulation, power backup, a cash flow plan and the subsidy you expect.
6. Take the bank term loan and apply for the subsidy: MIDH through your State Horticulture Mission, or NHB online after registering on its website. For a loan of up to ₹2 crore, ask your bank about the AIF interest subvention too.
7. Build, commission and claim. Keep every original invoice: NHB pays its subsidy against them, and the technical design must match the NCCD standards it was approved on.
8. Get your operating licences: the state cold storage licence where one applies, and FSSAI registration or a licence. FSSAI's kind-of-business table (updated 1 April 2026) lists "Storage (Cold/Refrigerated)" as its own category: registration (₹100 a year) up to ₹1.5 crore annual turnover, a state licence (₹5,000) from ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore, and a central licence (₹7,500) above ₹50 crore. Controlled atmosphere stores have their own category with the same bands. Our FSSAI licence guide shows how to check a licence online. Then insure the building, the plant and the goods held for others.
9. Fill the space: sign seasonal contracts with traders before the harvest, and look for year-round tenants such as dairies, processors and exporters (see the last section).

The cold storage licence: what a state law requires

Some states regulate cold stores under their own laws, so the rules depend on where you build. Uttar Pradesh, a major potato-growing state, is a clear example of what such a law contains. The Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Cold Storages Act, 1976 (text as published on Indian Kanoon) says:

• No licence, no business. Section 5: no person may "carry on the business of storing any agricultural produce in a cold storage except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence". The licensing officer is the state's Director of Horticulture and Fruit Utilization, or officers that the Director empowers.
• Permission before construction. Section 9: no new cold storage may be built without prior permission. The officer considers how many stores already work in the area and how much produce is available there.
• Small units are outside the definition. Refrigerated cabinets and chilling plants of under 100 cubic metres are not "cold storage" under the Act.
• Daily display of space. Section 13: every morning the licensee must display at the entrance the total, occupied and vacant capacity, in area and in tonnes.
• Care, receipts and charges. The licensee must take the care of stored goods that "a man of ordinary prudence" would take of his own, give hirers cold storage receipts, and may not refuse certified potato seed of genuine cultivators. A state advisory board advises the government on the maximum storage charges.

Other states have their own laws and forms. Ask your state horticulture or agricultural marketing department which law applies, what the licence costs and when it must be renewed, and check the current notification before you rely on any summary, including this one.

Cold storage companies and contacts in Starleads' data

Our Cold Storage & Warehouses list has 2,051 contacts in 64 cities. 84% have a mobile number and 46% an email address, and 61% name the contact person. Most are in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

These are counts of contacts in Starleads' data, not an official census, and the list is not a complete directory of India's cold stores. When we checked on 12 November 2026, the all-India cold storage and warehouses list held 2,051 businesses in 25 states and 64 cities, 84% with a mobile number and 46% with an email. Most of it is warehousing: 1,420 are listed under "Warehousing", 201 under "Warehouses" and only 80 under "Cold Storage". Set that against the government's 8,815 cold storages: if you want refrigerated stores only, especially in the potato belts of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab, this list covers a small share of them. The state's licensing officer and the subsidy agencies know far more units. Download the free 60-contact sample first and see whether it fits your purpose.

The list is strongest in Maharashtra, around the warehousing hubs:

Place	Contacts	With mobile	With email	What stands out
Maharashtra	839	79%	38%	Mumbai 625, Pune 91, Navi Mumbai 32, then Thane, Nashik and Nagpur; 28 listed as cold storage
Mumbai	625	80%	31%	Andheri East 25, Bhiwandi 14, Andheri West 10; 22 listed as cold storage; 71% name the contact person
Delhi	161	within the all-India list		The second-largest state group
Karnataka	141	within the all-India list		Then Gujarat 103, Tamil Nadu 91, Rajasthan 76, Telangana 74
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab	70, 49, 25	within the all-India list		Thin coverage in the big potato states

The businesses around a cold store

The related lists matter more for most readers. They cover the tenants who rent cold space and the trades that sell to cold store owners:

• Cold Storage & Warehouses 2,051 contacts · 46% email · 84% mobile ₹499
• Transporters & Logistics Companies 41,932 contacts · 51% email · 93% mobile ₹1,999
• Food Processing & FMCG 18,029 contacts · 40% email · 69% mobile ₹1,999
• Dairy & Milk Suppliers 12,222 contacts · 28% email · 92% mobile ₹1,999
• AC Dealers & Service Centres 18,203 contacts · 37% email · 92% mobile ₹1,999

For scale: 41,932 transporters and logistics companies, 18,029 food processing and FMCG businesses, 12,222 dairies and milk suppliers and 18,203 AC dealers and service centres, some of whom also install commercial refrigeration. All-India lists of under 10,000 contacts, such as the cold storage list, cost ₹499; larger all-India lists cost ₹1,999, plus 18% GST. Check Starleads' insights for how the counts are made.

Who sells to cold stores, and who rents from them

A cold storage owner buys a lot before opening and keeps buying afterwards. If you sell any of these, cold stores are your customers:

• Refrigeration and insulation: compressors, evaporators, PUF and PIR panels, insulated doors, dock levelers, and annual maintenance of the plant. NHB's guideline subsidises upgrades to refrigeration and insulation, which gives owners of older stores a reason to buy.
• Power: diesel generators, transformers, and solar PV or vapour absorption systems, which NHB's add-on list covers.
• Handling and racking: pallets, bins, racks, forklifts and high-reach handling equipment.
• Services: insurance, pest control, fire safety equipment and its upkeep, temperature monitoring, and WDRA-linked warehouse receipt software.
• Transport: reefer trucks and containers, which most cold stores need on either side of storage. See our transporters list guide.

The tenants are just as important when you are filling space. Seasonal tenants are potato, onion and fruit traders and farmers' groups. Year-round tenants include dairies and ice cream makers (see our dairy companies guide), food processors, frozen food and spice exporters, seed companies (see our seed and fertilizer companies guide), and the freight forwarders who handle chilled exports.

When you contact these businesses by phone or SMS, follow TRAI's rules. Check numbers against the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR, the "Do Not Disturb" list) before a promotional call, make promotional calls from a 140-series number through a registered telemarketer, and send promotional SMS only through a provider registered on DLT, with registered headers and templates. Name your business at the start of every call, and stop when someone asks you to. Our DND check guide explains each step, and our cold calling tips help with what to say. Starleads sells business contacts only, never lists of private individuals.

Questions people ask

How many cold storages are there in India?

8,815, with a combined capacity of 402.18 lakh tonnes, as of 30 June 2025, according to PIB's September 2025 note. That is an average of about 4,560 tonnes a store. PMKSY's cold chain projects add 25.52 lakh tonnes a year of preservation capacity from 291 completed projects (June 2025).

What subsidy is available for cold storage?

MIDH (up to 5,000 tonnes) and NHB (larger units) pay a credit-linked back-ended subsidy of 35% of project cost, or 50% in the North East, hill states and scheduled areas. PMKSY's cold chain scheme gives up to ₹10 crore, but only for integrated chains, not standalone stores. AIF gives loans of up to ₹2 crore with 3% interest subvention.

How much does a 5,000 MT cold storage project cost?

On NHB's cost norms, a 5,000-tonne store works out to about ₹4 crore for a basic Type 1 store at ₹8,000 a tonne, or ₹5 crore for a multi-chamber Type 2 store at ₹10,000 a tonne. Land and working capital are extra. Real quotes vary with the site, the design and power costs, so get detailed project estimates.

What are the different types of cold storage?

Single-commodity bulk stores (mainly potatoes), multi-commodity stores with chambers at different temperatures, controlled atmosphere stores for fruit such as apples, frozen stores with blast freezers, ripening chambers, and farm-level pack houses with pre-cooling. The table above sets out what each holds and who uses it.

Do I need a licence to run a cold storage?

Usually yes. States with a cold storage law, such as Uttar Pradesh under its 1976 Act, require permission to build and a licence to operate. Storing food also needs FSSAI registration or a licence, by turnover: registration up to ₹1.5 crore, a state licence up to ₹50 crore, and a central licence above that. Check with your state horticulture department.

Which is the biggest cold storage in India?

No official source we read names one, and capacity changes as stores expand. Government data counts storage by state and scheme, not a ranking of individual units, so treat any claim of the "biggest" with care unless it comes from the operator's own published figures.

How does a cold storage earn money?

From rent for space, often charged per bag or per quintal for the season in potato stores, or by pallet and time in multi-commodity stores. Some owners also earn from trading their own stock, from services such as sorting, grading, ripening and handling, and, where the store uses WDRA's negotiable warehouse receipt system, from making its receipts usable with lenders. The official sources we read give no national rent figures, so check local rates yourself.

Where can I find a cold storage list with contact numbers?

Ask your state horticulture department, which licenses cold stores in states with a cold storage law, and check NHB's subsidy reports on its website. Starleads' list has 2,051 cold storage and warehouse contacts, but only 80 are listed as cold storages, so look at the free sample before you pay.