High-tech mandis beckon India Inc

Some of the biggest names in corporate India want to join hands with the government to develop terminal markets for agricultural commodities, or state-of-the-art mandis, that will provide farmers with a modern platform to sell their produce.

These include Reliance Industries, the Tata group, ITC Agri, the Adanis, Larsen & Toubro, Pantaloon, DLF, the Rahejas and Lalit Suri's Bharat Hotels.

The government recently sought expressions of interest for constructing and managing eight such markets, as public-private partnerships, in Nashik, Nagpur, Mumbai, Patna, Chandigarh, Rai (Haryana), Kolkata and Bhopal.

The bigger mandis will probably cost well over Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), of which the private partner is required to contribute 75 per cent.

"These state-of-the-art mandis will become the link between farmers and the rest of the country, helping them get better rates without involving intermediaries," said PK Agarwal, joint secretary in the ministry of agriculture.

In all, 104 bids for the eight mandis have been received so far. As per plan, while the private partner will undertake construction, services, auction and warehousing, the Centre will be responsible for compliance and the state governments will have to chip in with fast clearances.

Confirming the Tata group's interest, a top Voltas functionary said, "We have expressed interest in two mandis - Nashik and Mumbai. We are strong in industrial air-conditioning and this project is a logical extension in cold chain business."

Voltas is in talks with various companies to form a consortium for the project. "If the consortium cannot be formed, we will go ahead alone," said the executive.

An executive of Bharat Hotels said the company had bid for all the eight projects. The company has also entered into a joint venture for the project, with Sydney Markets, an Australian company.

ITC Agri, too, has bid for all eight projects. "We are still formulating our business model for the project as horticulture has immense potential," said Sivakumar, the company's chief executive officer.

To generate more interest in the project, the government has called a meeting on the concept note with state representatives on February 1 in Jaipur. "This will be required for better response from the states towards the current and forthcoming projects," said Agarwal.