ECB Policy: Cold Storage Added to Infrastructure Definition
Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/333 · issued 02 Mar 2010 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI expands infrastructure definition for ECB to include cold storage/room facilities for agricultural, marine, and meat products. All other ECB norms unchanged.
The rule, in the simplest words
Cold storage (a big fridge for keeping food fresh) is now part of the 'infrastructure' list for ECB (borrowing money from foreign countries).
Banks can now approve foreign loans for cold storage projects up to $500 million per company each year without special permission.
All other rules for ECB (like who can borrow, who can lend, how long the loan lasts) stay the same.
This helps farmers and food companies get cheaper loans to build cold rooms, so less food gets wasted.
How it plays out — a real example
An agri & priority-sector lending officer in Indore reviews a loan application from a local dairy company wanting to build a cold room for storing milk and paneer. Thanks to the new rule, the officer can process their ECB request under the infrastructure sector, allowing the company to borrow up to $500 million from a foreign bank at lower interest rates, which helps reduce spoilage and supports rural business.
What changed
The definition of infrastructure sector for ECB purposes now includes cold storage or cold room facilities, including farm-level pre-cooling, for preserving agricultural and allied produce, marine products, and meat. This expands the previous list of eight sectors to nine.
What it means for you
Banks can now process ECB applications for cold storage projects under the same infrastructure sector benefits, including the USD 500 million automatic route limit per company per year. This opens up cheaper foreign borrowing for agri-logistics and cold chain projects, potentially boosting rural infrastructure and reducing post-harvest losses.
What you must do
Update internal ECB policy manuals to include cold storage as an eligible infrastructure sector.
Inform customers in agri-logistics, cold chain, and food processing about this new ECB eligibility.
Ensure all other ECB conditions (borrower, lender, end-use, maturity, reporting) remain unchanged for these projects.
Who it affects
AD Category-I banks, Companies in cold storage and cold chain logistics, Agricultural and marine product processors and exporters, Infrastructure lenders and borrowers
❓ Common questions
Does this change the USD 500 million automatic route limit?
No, the USD 500 million limit per company per financial year under the automatic route remains unchanged.
What types of cold storage facilities are now covered?
Cold storage or cold room facilities, including farm-level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied produce, marine products, and meat.
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2009-10/333
A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.38
March 02, 2010
To
All Category - I Authorised Dealer Banks
Madam / Sir,
External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) Policy
Attention of Authorised Dealer Category - I (AD Category - I) banks is invited to the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 5 dated August 1, 2005 and A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 20 dated October 8, 2008 relating to External Commercial Borrowings (ECB).
2. As per the extant ECB policy, infrastructure sector is defined as (i) power, (ii) telecommunication, (iii) railways, (iv) road including bridges, (v) sea port and airport, (vi) industrial parks, (vii) urban infrastructure (water supply, sanitation and sewage projects) and (viii) mining, exploration and refining.
3. As announced in para 54 of the Union Budget for the Year 2010-11, it has been decided to expand the definition of infrastructure sector, for the purpose of availing of ECB, to include “cold storage or cold room facility, including for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied produce, marine products and meat”. Accordingly, the infrastructure sector would henceforth be defined to include (i) power, (ii) telecommunication, (iii) railways, (iv) road including bridges, (v) sea port and airport, (vi) industrial parks, (vii) urban infrastructure (water supply, sanitation and sewage projects), (viii) mining, exploration and refining and (ix) cold storage or cold room facility, including for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied produce, marine products and meat.
4. All other aspects of the ECB policy, such as, USD 500 million limit per company per financial year under the automatic route, eligible borrower, recognised lender, end-use, average maturity period, prepayment, refinancing of existing ECB, reporting arrangements and terms and conditions stipulated in the A.P. (DIR Series) Circulars shall remain unchanged.
5. AD Category-I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.
6. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and is without prejudice to permissions/approvals, if any, required under any other law.
Yours faithfully,
(Salim Gangadharan)
Chief General Manager-in-Charge
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2009-10/333 · issued 02 Mar 2010. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (AD Category-I banks, Companies in cold storage and cold chain logistics, Agricultural and marine product processors and exporters, Infrastructure lenders and borrowers), your first concrete step on “ECB Policy: Cold Storage Added to Infrastructure Definition” is: “Update internal ECB policy manuals to include cold storage as an eligible infrastructure sector.” (RBI issued this 02 Mar 2010).
Action required: Update internal ECB policy manuals to include cold storage as an eligible infrastructure sector.
Action required: Inform customers in agri-logistics, cold chain, and food processing about this new ECB eligibility.
Action required: Ensure all other ECB conditions (borrower, lender, end-use, maturity, reporting) remain unchanged for these projects.
Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.
💬 Banker Discussion
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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly). Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=5519&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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