Maharashtra: Minimum rate of milk fixed at Rs 25/litre

Amid ongoing protests demanding a hike in the price of milk, the Maharashtra government on Thursday announced Rs 25 per litre as the minimum rate of milk for dairy farmers.

The government said the decision would be implemented from July 21.

State-wide protests have been witnessed in the past week, with dairy farmers demanding a hike in prices.

Workers of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathna (SSS) spilt milk on the roads of Jalna as a mark of protest, earlier in the day.

In a similar incident, the party workers on July 15 vandalised a tanker ferrying milk from Wardha to Nagpur.

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Minister for Transport Nitin Gadkari had announced that the government would give 10 percent incentives to the exporters of milk products.

"The government has decided to give 10 percent export incentive on the export of milk, milk powder, and milk products, it has been notified as well. There is a request from the Agriculture Ministry to make milk available at railway stations. The railways will think over it and take a decision in 3-4 days," he added, after a meeting with Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh and Gadkari.

Goyal had also said that he would take up the issue regarding consumption of milk, with the other ministries.