New Delhi: India and Russia today signed a pact to set up 25 integrated infrastructure centers for irradiation treatment of perishable food items to improve shelf life and cut post-harvest losses.
At least 7 centers will be set up in Maharashtra, with the first centre near Shirdi to be ready next year. Perishable items ranging from flowers to fish will be treated there on a commercial scale.
The agreement was signed between Russia’s United Innovation Corporation (UIC) — a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation — and Hindustan Agro Co-op Ltd on the sidelines of the BRICS Business Forum here.
“As part of the agreement, a JV will be formed for this purpose. About 25 integrated centers will be developed across the country, of which seven of them in Maharashtra in the first phase,” Hindustan Agro Co-op Ltd Chairman Bharat Dhokani Patil told reporters.
UIC will be a technology partner and will help set up the irradiation centers in India. The mode of investment and economic feasibility of the project is still being worked out, he said.
The 7 centers are likely to be established in Sindhurg, Satara, Solapur, JNPT, Jalana, Napur and Pune in the first phase. The locations in other states are yet to be finalised, he added.
