CDB Approved 18 Projects Worth Rs.12.76 Crores

KOCHI:
Coconut Development Board (CDB) in its 48th meeting of the Project Approval Committee (PAC) on Technology Mission on Coconut (TMOC) under the chairmanship of Dr. A.K. Singh, Chairman, CDB approved 18 projects with an outlay of Rs. 12.76 crores and financial assistance of Rs. 2.75 crores with annual processing capacity of 493 lakh coconuts and 3300 MT production of shell charcoal.
CDB Institute of Technology, South Vazhakulam, Aluva, Kerala has developed four flavours of ‘Flavored Coconut Milk, a ‘Ready to Drink Juice’ in lab scale. For pilot testing ofcthe product, PAC has sanctioned Rs. 52.20 lakh.
Under the sub component ‘Processing and Product Diversification’, five projects for Desiccated Coconut Powder for processing 300 lakh nuts per year, three Virgin Coconut Oil units for processing 105 lakh nuts per year, one Coconut based foods unit with a capacity to process two lakh nuts per year, two Copra Dryer units with processing capacity of 60 lakh coconuts per year, four Ball copra making units with processing capacity of 26 lakh coconuts per year and two Shell Charcoal units with a capacity for produce 3300 MT Shell Charcoal per year were sanctioned.
In Kerala, One Virgin Coconut Oil processing unit with a capacity to process 5,000 nuts per day, one Coconut based food unit for processing 600 coconut per day, two Desiccated Coconut Powder making units with a capacity to process 30,000 nuts per day and two copra dryer units with a capacity to process 20,000 coconuts per day were sanctioned.
In Karnataka, two Desiccated Coconut Powder processing units with a capacity to process 45,000 nuts per day were sanctioned. In Tamil Nadu, one Desiccated Coconut Powder processing unit with a capacity to process 25,000 nuts per day, two Virgin Coconut Oil units for processing 30,000 coconut per day and one Coconut Shell Charcoal manufacturing unit to produce 10 MT Shell Charcoal per day were sanctioned.
In Maharashtra one Coconut Shell Charcoal manufacturing unit to produce one MT Shell charcoal per day was sanctioned. In Andhra Pradesh, four Ball Copra making units with a capacity to process 26 lakh
coconuts per year were sanctioned.
Venkatesh N Hubballi, Director, Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development, Kochi; Dr. V. Krishna Kumar, Head, Regional Station, ICAR-CPCRI, Kayamkulam ; Dr. Anil Kumar R., Assistant Agricultural Marketing Officer, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection, Kochi; Dr. P.Vijayaraj, Scientist, CFTRI, Mysore; Dr. V. Rajaraman, AGM, NABARD, RO, Thriuvananthapuram; B. Sasidharan, Chief Manager, IOB, Kochi; Jessy KX, Joint Director of Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram; Dr. G.R.Singh, Chief Coconut Development Officer, CDB, Kochi, Dr. A.K. Nandi, Secretary, CDB, Kochi,  R. Jnanadevan, Deputy Director, CDB, Kochi and Shri Sardar Singh Choyal, Deputy Director, CDB, Kochi attended the meeting. Dr. D.M. Vasudevan, Former Principal, AIMS, Kochi attended the meeting as expert member.