National Horticulture Board (NHB) Schemes

1. Scheme Introduction / Overview

The National Horticulture Board (NHB) is an organisation under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

NHB implements programmes supporting the development of commercial horticulture, post-harvest infrastructure, cold storage, technology development, market information and horticulture clusters.

Under the current Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) framework, NHB focuses on commercial horticulture projects across India.

The major NHB programmes include:

Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management
Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme for Cold Storages/Storages of Horticulture Produce
Technology Development and Transfer for Promotion of Horticulture
Market Information Scheme for Horticulture Crops
Horticulture Promotion Services / Expert Services
Cluster Development Programme (CDP)

2. Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility varies according to the particular NHB scheme and project.

Generally eligible applicants can include:

Individual entrepreneurs
Farmers and farmer groups
Grower associations
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)
Partnership firms
Proprietorship firms
Companies
Cooperatives
Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
NGOs
Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs)
State/Agro-Industries Corporations
Other eligible organisations prescribed under the applicable scheme.

NHB's general eligibility provisions cover individuals and various legal entities, subject to the conditions of the particular scheme.

3. Eligible Industries / Businesses

NHB assistance is relevant to horticulture projects involving:

Horticulture Production

Fruits
Vegetables
Flowers
Spices
Plantation crops
Medicinal and aromatic plants
Other eligible horticultural crops

Post-Harvest Infrastructure

Pack houses
Sorting and grading facilities
Pre-cooling units
Cold storage
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage
Modified Atmosphere (MA) storage
Ripening chambers
Refrigerated/reefer facilities
Other eligible post-harvest infrastructure

Commercial Horticulture Projects

New commercial horticulture projects
Protected cultivation
High-value horticultural production
Integrated production and post-harvest management projects

Horticulture Cluster Development

NHB's Cluster Development Programme supports integrated development covering:

Production
Post-harvest management
Logistics
Processing/value addition
Branding
Marketing
Export-oriented development.

The revised CDP is designed around geographically specialised horticulture clusters and market-led development.

4. Subsidy / Financial Assistance Details

NHB provides capital investment subsidy/financial assistance under eligible schemes, with the exact assistance depending upon the project type, location, capacity and eligible project cost.

A. Cold Storage / Horticulture Storage

Under the current NHB cold-storage scheme, eligible credit-linked projects can receive back-ended capital investment subsidy of:

40% of eligible capital cost in general areas
55% in hilly and scheduled areas

for specified cold-storage/storage projects up to the applicable 5,000 MT project capacity category.

Eligible facilities can include:

Cold storages
Controlled Atmosphere stores
Modified Atmosphere stores
Pre-cooling units
Onion storage
Other eligible horticulture storage facilities.

B. Commercial Horticulture

The NHB Commercial Horticulture scheme provides financial assistance for eligible commercial horticulture projects involving production and post-harvest management.

The applicable subsidy rate and project ceiling depend upon the current NHB cost norms, activity and project category.

C. Cluster Development Programme

NHB's revised Cluster Development Programme provides financial assistance to implementing agencies for approved horticulture clusters.

The current framework categorises clusters as:

Cluster Category	Cluster Area	Financial Assistance
Mega	More than 15,000 ha	Up to ₹100 crore
Midi	More than 5,000 ha to 15,000 ha	Up to ₹50 crore
Mini	Up to 5,000 ha	Up to ₹25 crore

This is cluster-level assistance, not a standard subsidy payable directly to every individual farmer or company.

5. Maximum Subsidy / Assistance

There is no single maximum subsidy applicable to every NHB project.

The ceiling depends upon the particular NHB scheme and project.

Important examples:

Cold Storage Scheme:For specified projects up to 5,000 MT capacity, assistance is 40% in general areas and 55% in hilly/scheduled areas, subject to the applicable cost norms and scheme ceiling.

Cluster Development Programme:

Mini Cluster – up to ₹25 crore
Midi Cluster – up to ₹50 crore
Mega Cluster – up to ₹100 crore

The exact eligible project cost should be calculated using the latest NHB/MIDH cost norms rather than applying the subsidy percentage to the total project expenditure.

6. Key Benefits

NHB schemes can support:

Establishment of commercial horticulture projects
Expansion of horticulture production
Modern post-harvest infrastructure
Cold storage development
Controlled Atmosphere storage
Pre-cooling facilities
Reduction of post-harvest losses
Better quality and shelf life of horticultural produce
Improved market linkage
Technology adoption
Cluster-based horticulture development
Branding and marketing
Export-oriented horticulture infrastructure.

The Cluster Development Programme specifically aims to integrate production, post-harvest, logistics, branding and marketing activities to make horticulture clusters more competitive.

7. Applicable Conditions

Projects must comply with the applicable NHB/MIDH guidelines, cost norms and technical standards.

Important conditions may include:

Project must fall under an eligible NHB activity.
Applicant must satisfy the prescribed eligibility criteria.
Land ownership/lease arrangements must meet applicable requirements.
Project must comply with technical specifications.
DPR/project report must be prepared according to NHB requirements.
Eligible project cost is determined according to prescribed cost norms.
Projects may require term-loan financing depending upon the applicable scheme.
Inspection and verification may be carried out by NHB/authorised agencies.
Subsidy is generally subject to achievement of prescribed project milestones.
The same project cannot normally claim overlapping assistance under mutually exclusive Central Government schemes.

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