NHB Subsidy — Cold Storage, Polyhouse & Post-Harvest Infrastructure

NHB (National Horticulture Board, under Ministry of Agriculture) provides credit-linked back-ended capital subsidy for horticulture infrastructure — cold storage, polyhouse, packhouse, ripening chambers and integrated post-harvest projects.

NHB’s cold storage scheme pays a credit-linked, back-ended subsidy of 35% of eligible project cost in general areas and 45% in NE, Himalayan and special areas (NHB Public Circular of 21 August 2026). It covers stores above 5,000 MT, and eligible cost is worked out on capacity at NHB’s per-MT cost norms, not on the invoice. Stores up to 5,000 MT are funded under MIDH instead (cost norm ₹9,600/MT civil or ₹12,000/MT civil + PEB; 35%, or 50% in NE & Himalayan states). AIF interest subvention can be added on the loan portion.

Grant of Clearance (GoC): typically 60–90 days from filing. Bank sanction: parallel 60–120 days — no work at site and no term-loan disbursement before GoC. Joint inspection and subsidy release: 60–90 days post-commissioning. Total end-to-end: 9–15 months depending on project size.

NHB subsidy is back-ended — released only after project commissioning, physical verification by NHB officers, and submission of utilisation certificate by the financing bank. The borrower must fund construction through bank loan plus own equity initially. Work started before NHB’s Grant of Clearance makes the project ineligible.

NHB capital subsidy cannot be combined with MIDH or State Horticulture Mission assistance for the same project component — the schemes are mutually exclusive, so the right one is chosen per project. AIF 3% interest subvention can still be availed on the bank loan portion, reducing financing cost.

Bankable DPR, land ownership documents, KYC, project layout drawings, BOQ, bank in-principle term-sheet, PAN, GST, ITR (3 years for existing applicants), and PFMS-linked bank account for subsidy DBT.