India's dairy sector grows 70 pc in past 11 years: Amit Shah

Rohtak, Oct 3 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said India has made significant strides in the dairy sector over the past 11 years, noting that it has grown by 70 per cent during this period and is now the fastest-growing sector in the world.

He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's dairy sector has expanded by 70 per cent in terms of capacity.

In the world, India's dairy sector is the fastest-growing, Shah said after inaugurating the newly constructed Sabar Dairy Plant facility in Industrial Model Township here as part of efforts to promote the cooperative sector.

Built for Rs 325 crore, the plant will house state-of-the-art machinery and is expected to generate direct and indirect employment.

The newly inaugurated Sabar Dairy plant here is the country's largest production facility for curd, buttermilk, and yogurt, with a daily capacity of 150 metric tonnes of curd, 3 lakh litres of buttermilk, 10 lakh litres of yogurt, and 10 metric tonnes of sweets.

Gujarat-headquartered Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union is known as Sabar Dairy.

Shah, who also holds the cooperation portfolio, said that over the past four years, this ministry, in collaboration with all state governments, has worked to lay a strong foundation of cooperatives.

"I want to assure you that by 2029, not even one Panchayat will be there in the country, which will not have a cooperative society," Shah said.

He said the milk production has increased from 146 million tonnes in 2014-2015 from 146 million tonnes to 239 million tonnes in 2023-24.

As many as eight crore farmers are connected with the dairy sector, and the per capita milk availability, which was earlier 124 grams, is now 471 grams, he added.

During the last 11 years, a lot of changes have taken place in the dairy sector because of which farmers have become prosperous, he further said, adding that India has emerged as the top milk producer in the world.

Shah also mentioned the White Revolution 2.0 initiative.

He stated that our current milk processing capacity is 660 lakh litres per day, and our target is to increase this to 100 million litres by 2028-29.

There is an increase in the milk procurement under the cooperative sector, and its profit goes directly to our farmer mothers and sisters engaged in the dairy sector, he noted.

In the last one year, around 33,000 cooperatives have been registered, he further said.

The milk of the indigenous cattle breed, which is beneficial for health, increased from 39 million tonne to 50 MT, he said.

"In the past 11 years, many changes have taken place in the dairy sector, and because of which, our farmers have been empowered," Shah added.

We will also develop a system so that the country has the world's most modern plants in India, the minister said.

About Sabar Dairy's new plant here, Shah said it will meet the needs of the entire National Capital Region and Northern states.

Sabar Dairy serves farmers of Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

In Haryana, it will reach everywhere, which will increase the income of farmers, he further said.

Shah also said that in terms of per capita milk availability, Haryana consistently ranks between first and third place every year.

Shah stated that Sabar Dairy, which began in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district, has created vast opportunities for milk producers across nine states.

Through cooperative dairy, 35 lakh women in Gujarat are doing business of Rs 85,000 crore, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Shah said, under the White Revolution 2.0, over 75,000 dairy cooperatives will be set up in the country.

Besides, 46,000 cooperative societies will be strengthened, he added.

Shah also informed about the government's decision to establish three new multi-state cooperative societies for the dairy sector.

The first society will focus on 'animal feed production, disease control and artificial insemination', the second will promote 'developing cow dung management models' and the third will promote 'circular use of dead cattle remains'.

The government brought the National Gokul mission, ran the national artificial insemination programme and set up the animal husbandry infrastructure development fund, he said.

"We will also develop a system so that the country has the world's most modern plants in India, and there is work on research and development." He also mentioned the launching and modernising of various dairy and cooperative projects associated with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

The minister said that under Amul's leadership, extensive scientific work has been carried out in Gujarat on modern breeding technologies, such as embryo transfer and sex-determination.

These technologies should also be made available to livestock farmers in Haryana.

Along with this, there is a need to promote beekeeping and organic farming in the state.

He also mentioned that several successful experiments on biogas have been carried out in Gujarat, and such initiatives should also be implemented in Haryana.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Gujarat Vidhan Sabha Speaker Shankarbhai Chaudhary, Union Ministers of State Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal, Gujarat Minister Bhikhusinh Parmar, Chairman, Sabar Dairy, Shamalbhai B Patel, Amul chairman Ashok Chaudhary and Haryana Minister Arvind Sharma, Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli were among others present at the event. PTI SUN CHS VSD BAL BAL