CONCOR CMD Ajit Kumar Panda calls for Integrated Cold Chain Infrastructure to strengthen India’s Agri, Food and Pharma Supply Chains
NEW DELHI : Shri Ajit Kumar Panda, Chairman and Managing Director, Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR), has emphasised the need for a robust, integrated and cost-effective cold chain infrastructure to strengthen India’s rapidly expanding agri, food and pharmaceutical supply chains.
Delivering a special address at the ASSOCHAM Cold Chain & Warehousing Summit 2026, held in New Delhi on September 10, Shri Panda highlighted the critical importance of developing seamless, end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics systems capable of supporting cargo movement from the point of production to domestic consumption centres and international markets.
He underlined that an efficient cold chain ecosystem is essential for preserving product quality, reducing wastage and improving the reliability of supply chains for temperature-sensitive commodities. For sectors such as agriculture, food processing and pharmaceuticals, the availability of dependable temperature-controlled transportation and warehousing can play an increasingly important role in improving market access and supply-chain efficiency.
Highlighting CONCOR’s growing capabilities in this segment, Shri Panda shared the company’s initiatives in rail-based reefer services, Hybrid IceBattery® technology and temperature-controlled warehousing.
The expansion of rail-based cold chain solutions can help facilitate the movement of temperature-sensitive cargo over longer distances while strengthening multimodal connectivity across India’s logistics network. Combined with specialised warehousing and innovative temperature-management technologies, these capabilities can support a more integrated logistics chain from farm and factory to domestic and global markets.
The discussions at the summit also reflected the growing need for closer integration between transportation, storage, technology and last-mile distribution to create a cold chain ecosystem that is both commercially viable and scalable.
CONCOR’s focus on specialised logistics solutions is aligned with its broader objective of providing efficient, reliable and integrated supply-chain services across the country.
Key Highlights
Ajit Kumar Panda, CMD, CONCOR, delivered a special address at the ASSOCHAM Cold Chain & Warehousing Summit 2026.
Emphasised the need for robust, integrated and cost-effective cold chain infrastructure.
Highlighted the importance of end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics.
Showcased CONCOR’s capabilities in rail-based reefer services.
Focused on the potential of Hybrid IceBattery® technology for temperature-controlled logistics.
Highlighted the role of temperature-controlled warehousing in strengthening supply chains.
Stressed the importance of seamless logistics connectivity from farm/factory to domestic and global markets.
With demand for quality-sensitive and temperature-controlled cargo logistics continuing to grow, integrated cold chain infrastructure is expected to play an increasingly important role in strengthening India’s food security, reducing supply-chain losses and supporting the country’s expanding agri, food processing and pharmaceutical sectors.
