Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that in three years, the government will set up 2lakh primary dairy units at the village level across the country. Inaugurating the Mega Milk Dairy of Mandya Milk Union (ManMul) at Gejjalagere in Mandya on Friday, Shah said Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) and Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) will collaborate to establish dairies in every village in Karnataka.
“Karnataka has made huge progress in milk production and distribution. KMF, which distributed 66,000 litres of milk in 1975, is now distributing 82 lakh litres daily, and revenue has increased from Rs 4 crore to Rs 25,000 crore. Just as a white revolution transformed the lives of dairy farmers in Gujarat, KMF and AMUL will make India a big exporter in the dairy sector,” he said.
He said that 22,000 farmers from Mandya receive money from KMF. “The amount is directly credited to their bank accounts. Every month, dairy farmers from 16 districts are getting around Rs 28 crore,” he said. Shah said the dairies will be set with the National Dairy Development Board. “The Centre is committed to extending the white revolution across the country. The cooperative ministry has prepared a three-year action plan, and assures KMF of all support to develop the units,” he said.
Later, addressing the Cooperative Convention in Bengaluru, Shah said by creating a separate Ministry of Cooperatives, PM Narendra Modi has given new momentum and longevity to the cooperative movement in the country.
He said there is a plan to set up a Cooperative University, and work is on to create a national database of all cooperatives across the country, and a committee under the chairmanship of Suresh Prabhu has been set up to chalk out a cooperative policy.
“We will expand the role of National Cooperative Development Corporation and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development so that cooperative societies get finance easily,” he said.
