Amul also joins the campaign launched by former IRMA students.

Alumni of Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) have launched a campaign to mobilise people in their effort to urge government of India to award the highest civilian honour of the nation-Bharat Ratna-to Verghese Kurien, the father of the "White Revolution" in India. Asias largest milk brand Amul has also joined the campaign.

Click here for Cloud Computing

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Panda bulls - Brokers' Budget wish list: Reduce cost of trading - GCMMF aims Rs 27000 crore turnover for Guj dairies by 2020 - Amul to add 6,000 retail parlours this year - Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma named Navy chief - Amul wants milk products in negative list under FTAs

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Wall Street opens flat as data offsets Moody's warning - Thomas Cook India Q4 net jumps three times - Govt plans to make 30% sourcing from MSEs mandatory - Explain ways to cover govt loss on 3G roaming: TDSAT to telcos - Magma Fincorp plans to start gold finance biz in H1 of FY13 More

"The students plan to send a petition to the president and the prime minister of India seeking award of ‘Bharat Ratna’ to Kurien in recognition for his immense contribution", said Varun Rattan Singh, IRMA alumni.

So far more than 1,000 people have already signed the petioned posted online and many more are likely to join as the campaign picks up. "Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns and markets Amul brand, has also supported the initiative taken by former students of IRMA.

The doyen of dairy cooperative movement, Kurien has been instrumental in transforming the lives of 13 million farmer families across the country. As the chief architect of ‘Operation Flood’, he was able to leverage an initial investment of Rs. 1000 crores into regular annual income of Rs. 1,00,000 crores for farmers of India. has been instrumental.

His vision is embodied in numerous institutions created by him such as AMUL, GCMMF, IRMA, NDDB, NCDFI, Anandalaya and various state dairy cooperative federations as well as district-level milk producers’ cooperative unions.

Interestingly, on 13 June 2009, Kurien, who has not been in the best of health recently, will complete 60 years of an amazing journey that he started on 13 June 1949, when, as a young bachelor full of zest for life, he landed in Anand – a town which he transformed into the milk capital of India.

New Ipad Application :Business Standard's all new IPad App Click here to download for free Other Stories      - Wall Street opens flat as data offsets Moody's warning - Thomas Cook India Q4 net jumps three times - Govt plans to make 30% sourcing from MSEs mandatory - Explain ways to cover govt loss on 3G roaming: TDSAT to telcos - Magma Fincorp plans to start gold finance biz in H1 of FY13

Tags : irma | gcmmf   Read Business news in  Advertisements -  Now property search gets more exciting than ever before! -  High Growth Business Opportunities in Africa - Register to explore -  Medium-sized businesses are the engines of a smarter planet. -  We live for our family. have you secured them? -  Office 365 for professionals and small businesses. -  Earn fuel worth Rs.2400 with Citi -  India's No. 1 Property Site. Click here to know more.. -  Diseases earlier, Saving Costs, Extending Lives. Know More.. -  Get 5% cashback on telephone bills with Citi -  Enjoy the journey as much as the destination. click to know more.. -  Exim Bank Conclave on India - Africa Project Partnership. Know more.. -  Be part of it The World's Largest Aircraft. -  Creating Wealth made simple the SIP way. Know more.. -  Only Developer to give a guarantee on time space & rate. -  Buy Your Property with Our Triple Guarantee in India. -  Improve Patient Care & Experience. Click here to know more -  Win a Business Class Ticket to Europe..Know more.. -   Introduce a New Automotive Luxury Car.. know more -  Health is Wealth..... Insurance + Savings... Know More...