Research
Can India’s Cold Chain Infrastructure Meet Growing Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Needs?
India has a very high volume of perishable products like fruits, vegetables, dairies and pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, much of this fruit and vegetables is wasted annually as a result of lack of proper cold chain facilities. With demand increasing in both the agricultural and pharmaceutical spheres in terms of temperature-sensitive goods, India also faces the fierce question of just whether or not its established cold chain system can keep in pace with this expanding demand.
Agricultural Losses Due to Cold Chain Gaps
The post-harvest losses in India are high in the agriculture sector, which purely needs an efficient cold chain system in managing its crops. As per the ministry of food processing industries, some rupees 92000 crores worth of perishables are wasted every year. One of the main reasons is a lack of farm storage facilities, good pack houses and refrigerated transportation means. Without the availability of time and temperature-controlled logistics, farmers are left to either sell out cheaply or let it go to waste.
One government initiative, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), was instrumental in boosting the cold storage facilities; so were the efforts of the National Horticulture Board. Nevertheless, the rates of rural penetration are still low, and the majority of infrastructures are being used at a lower level or even worn out. This inefficiency does not only affect the income of farmers but also does influence the food supply and prices in the city markets.
cold chain logistics
Pharmaceutical Sector Requires Advanced Solutions
India manufactures vaccines and generic drugs and is a manufacturing hub across the world. The pharmaceutical industry requires even more stringent standards of the cold chain, particularly such products as insulin, biologics, and mRNA-based products. Preservation of the cold chain is also essential to efficacy in addition to left-hand side compliance to global standards, such as Good Distribution Practices (GDP).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated a few deficiencies in the cold chain abilities of India. Temperature excursion, lack of real-time tracking systems and delay in delivery was reported in many regions. In spite of investments made by companies in the technology automation and smart control by ensuring both smart cold storage, GPS enabled reefers and temperature-monitoring systems, the solution is likely to be available only to metro cities and at Tier-1 locations.
Challenges in Expanding India’s Cold Chain Network
India requires in-depth measures to close this gap. Critical is public-private cooperation, cold chain start-up , and infrastructure tax credits. In addition, there should be the adaptation of the technology. IoT devices, observation in the cloud, and supply chain monitoring on the blockchain may increase visibility and chain of custody within a supply chain.
However, other problems like the expense of energy, erratic electricity in the rural areas and non-availability of skilled cold chain professionals still hover. Any of such nation-level programs like Gati Shakti and National Logistics Policy could increase the connectivity and efficiency levels but have not been experienced fully in the cold chain sector.
Conclusion: A Critical Need for Scalable, Inclusive Solutions
There has been little development of the cold chain infrastructure in India, though it is very distant to supporting the needs of the agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors fully. Regional inclusive and scale-able, tech-enabled solutions are what is required at this moment in time. In the absence of such modernizations, India risks spending food and medicine in a nation where access to both of them is not easily accessible.
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