KOCHI: The 45th project approval committee of the Technology Mission on Coconut cleared 19 projects, worth `21.209 crore, for coconut processing and product diversification.
The projects were cleared by a meeting chaired by Coconut Development Board chairman T K Jose IAS, with an outlay of `21.209 crore and subsidy of `4.256 crore.
Of the 19 approved projects, five are research projects, 13 processing and product diversification projects, and market promotion project.
There are six projects for desiccated coconut powder units for processing around 2 lakh nuts per day; and one virgin coconut oil unit for processing 15,000 nuts per day.
The other major projects approved by the committee are two tender-coconut water preservation and packaging units with capacity to process 30,000 tender-coconuts per day; two coconut shell charcoal manufacturing units for processing 26 MT shells per day; one shell powder unit with capacity to process 20 MT coconut shell powder per day; one ball copra unit with capacity to process 12 lakh coconuts per year and one market promotional programme for establishing 70 Integrated coconut points.
For Kerala, one virgin coconut oil processing unit with capacity to process 15,000 nuts per day was sanctioned. For Karnataka, one tender-coconut water processing unit with capacity to process 10,000 tender-coconuts per day; three desiccated coconut powder processing units with capacity to process around 1.35 nuts per day; and two coconut shell charcoal units with capacity to process 26 MT shell per day were sanctioned.
For Tamil Nadu, two desiccated coconut powder units for processing 45,000 coconuts per day; one tender-coconut water unit for processing 20,000 tender-coconuts per day; and one coconut shell powder unit for producing 20 MT coconut shell powder per day were sanctioned. For Andhra Pradesh, one ball copra unit with capacity to process 12 lakh coconuts per year was sanctioned.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra will have one desiccated coconut powder unit with capacity to process 20,000 nuts per day.
CFTRI (CSIR), Mysore, chief scientist Dr K S M S Raghava Rao; ICAR, CPCRI, Kayamkulam, head Dr V Krishnakumar; NABARD, regional office, Thriuvananthapuram, AGM Usha K; DMI, Kochi, assistant agricultural marketing adviser Dr Anilkumar R; Indian Overseas Bank, Kochi; asst manager Martina Yohannan; CDB, Kochi, chief coconut development officer Sugata Ghose; CDB, Kochi, secretary Dr A K Nandi; CDB, Kochi, director Rajeev P George; and CDB, Kochi, deputy director Hemachandra attended the meeting.