The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been implementing a flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) with an investment of Rs 20,050 crore in all the States/Union Territories. In order to address the infrastructure gaps in fisheries and aquaculture, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India with effect from the financial year 2018-19 has also been implementing a dedicated fund Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) with a fund size of Rs 7522.48 crore.
The PMMSY inter alia aims to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare in cold water fisheries.
The Department of Fisheries, Government of India, has approved various fisheries developmental projects of Himalayan and Hilly States for an amount of Rs.706 crore including projects for cold water fisheries development. A framework titled Model Guidelines for the Development of Cold Water Fisheries was issued on 14th March, 2026 to support States in developing coldwater fisheries and its associated infrastructure. These guidelines provide specifications for development of Raceways, Re-circulatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS), hatcheries, feed mills, disease prevention and market linkagesfor augmenting production, value addition and marketing of commercially important coldwater fish species like Rainbow Trout, Golden Mahseer and Snow Trout. In addition, the Department of Fisheries, Government of India has notified four clusters specifically for development of cold water fisheries at Anant Nag District in Jammu and Kashmir, Pithoragarh District in Uttarakhand, Kargil District in Ladakh and Kullu District in Himachal Pradesh.
(c) and (d) : The Department of Fisheries, Government of India promotes adoption of emerging technologies such as RAS, Biofloc, Cages, IoT‑based water quality monitoring, GIS mapping, automated feeders and digital market platforms for fish farmers in remote and mountainous regions. Under PMMSY, a model RAS for coldwater fisheries has been developed through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Institute of Coldwater Fisheries Research (ICAR-CICFR), Bhimtal for intensive trout production and year‑round breeding of Golden Mahseer. Moreover, ICAR‑Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) Kochi has supported fish processing and Ready‑to‑Eat facilities in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
This Information was given by Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question asked.
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