The Project Approval Committee (PAC) meeting, which was held on Technology Mission on Coconut (TMOC) here, has approved 30 projects with an outlay of `87.97 crore and subsidy of `11.15 crore.
The 30 projects given approval include three works on research, one on pest and disease management and 26 on processing and product diversification. Out of 26 projects on processing and product diversification, 12 were exclusively on Neera processing and packing units.
All the coconut producer companies of Kerala registered with CDB submitted their project on processing of Neera and Neera-based value added products, and all the 12 projects were sanctioned with an outlay of `5,982.02 lakh and subsidy of `600 lakh.
The output of Neera expected from these units will be 1.47 lakh litre per day, of which 60 per cent will be processed and packed as nutritious natural Neera drink and 40 per cent as neera honey, neera sugar and other value added products from Neera.
Under the project component, ‘Processing and Product Diversification’, three integrated coconut processing units, six desiccated coconut powder manufacturing units, one coconut chips unit, a ball copra unit, two coconut shell charcoal units and a coconut shell-based activated carbon unit were also given sanction.
In Kerala, 12 Neera processing and packing units, three integrated coconut processing units, one unit for desiccated coconut powder for processing 25,000 nuts per day, one unit for coconut chips for processing 2,000 nuts per day, and one unit for ball copra having the capacity to process 310 Qntl Ball Copra per day were approved.
In Karnataka, two units of desiccated coconut powder having a capacity to process 10,000 and 32,000 nuts per day respectively, one unit of coconut shell-based activated carbon unit for processing 3,600 ton a year were sanctioned.
In Tamil Nadu, three units of desiccated coconut powder having a capacity to process 40,000, 35,000 and 80,000 nuts per day, one unit of coconut shell-based activated carbon unit for processing 30,000 Kg coconut shell charcoal a day were sanctioned.