India's dairy sector grew by 70% in last 11 years, says Amit Shah

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 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 at a cost of 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 laid a strong foundation for the cooperative system.

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

Shah said the number of milch animals has increased from 86 million in 2014-2015 to 112 million. Milk production has increased from 146 million tonnes to 239 million tonnes, he said.

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, said Shah.

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, while adding that India has emerged as the top milk producer in the world.

Shah also mentioned the White Revolution 2.0 initiative and said that by 2028-29, milk procurement by dairy cooperatives is expected to reach 1,007 lakh kg per day from current levels.

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

Meanwhile, regarding 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.

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.