National Milk Day & White Revolution 2.0
Context:
National Milk Day is observed on November 26 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien who is known as the Father of the White Revolution in India.
The day honours the contribution of dairy farmers who have made India the world's largest milk producer, contributing nearly 25% of global output.
About White Revolution:
The white revolution was initiated in 1970 under the Operation Flood programme by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
It aimed to replicate the Anand cooperative model across India,
The idea is to transform the country from a milk-deficient nation to a global leader.
As a result, India's milk production has more than doubled in the last decade (reaching 239.30 million tonnes in 2023-24) with per capita availability rising to 471 grams/day.
White Revolution 2.0:
A new initiative was launched to strengthen dairy cooperatives, aiming to form 75,000 new dairy cooperative societies by 2028-29.
The focus Areas are :-
Inclusion:
It prioritizes enrolling women farmers and expanding organized dairying to uncovered villages.
Sustainability:
It promotes the use of cow dung for bio-fertilizers and biogas to support a circular economy.
Growth:
It projects milk procurement by cooperatives to rise significantly
This is supported by recent GST reductions on dairy products to 5% or nil.