Cooling as a Service (CaaS) LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS—INDIA REPLICATION

The report proposes a 'Cooling as a Service' (CaaS) model for India to provide smallholder farmers with affordable, clean, decentralized cold storage via a pay-as-you-go system. Supported by the 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' (VCCA) app for price and shelf-life analytics, the model aims to reduce food waste and increase farmer incomes by an estimated 36%. Pilot projects in Bihar and Himachal Pradesh are designed to test viability, with long-term targets of mobilizing USD 200 million and benefiting 1.5 million farmers.

• The CaaS model aims to remove the primary barrier to cold storage for smallholder farmers by replacing upfront capital expenses with a pay-as-you-go system where farmers pay based on the weight of commodities stored per kg-day.
• The 'Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant' (VCCA) app uses machine-learning and physics-based models to predict crop shelf life and provide predictive price analytics, guiding farmers on when and where to sell produce to maximize revenue.
• Financial modeling for apple farmers in the Himachal region indicates that cold room providers can achieve project-level returns exceeding 25%, with an Equity IRR of 31.1% and a Project IRR of 22.5%.
• The implementation of cold storage is estimated to increase effective farmer income per acre by 36% for apple farmers, rising from INR 240,000 to INR 326,800 due to reduced wastage (from 25% to 5%) and higher selling prices.
• Two pilot projects are planned for the 2021-2022 season: one in Himachal Pradesh with CoolCrop for medium/long-term apple storage (targeting 200-500 farmers) and one in Bihar with Oorja for short-term multi-commodity storage (targeting approximately 500 farmers).
• The long-term scaling goals for CaaS with VCCA include benefiting over 1.5 million farmers, abating 100,000 units of CO2, and mobilizing USD 200 million into decentralized cold room projects within four years of launch.

APA

Singh, D. (2021). Cooling as a Service (CaaS) LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS—INDIA REPLICATION. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Instrument-Analysis-Report_CaaS.pdf

Chicago

Singh, Divjot. Cooling as a Service (CaaS) LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS—INDIA REPLICATION. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Instrument-Analysis-Report_CaaS.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Singh |first1=Divjot |title=Cooling as a Service (CaaS) LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS—INDIA REPLICATION |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Instrument-Analysis-Report_CaaS.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{singh2021cooling, author = {Singh, Divjot}, title = {{Cooling as a Service (CaaS) LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS—INDIA REPLICATION}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Instrument-Analysis-Report_CaaS.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }