Dairy Sahakar a 5Kcr scheme launched for encouraging dairy cooperatives

With an aim to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘from cooperation to prosperity’, Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah and Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala have jointly launched ‘Dairy Sahakar,’ a scheme envisaging investment of Rs 5,000 crore having focus on encouraging cooperative dairy businesses in the country.

This is for the first time, a comprehensive scheme exclusively for cooperatives related to all aspects of dairy business, has been framed by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) in partnership with the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department of the Government of India.

Before launching the scheme, Shah at an event held in Gujarat’s Anand on Sunday to celebrate the milk dairy cooperative giant Amul’s 75th foundation year, said that dairy sector and cooperatives have a major role to turn India not only into a USD 5-trillion economy but also help making the agriculture and allied sectors ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant).

“We need to implement this cooperative model to empower sectors like agriculture and animal husbandry, and NCDC’s Rs 5,000 crore  Dairy Sahakar is a step towards that” Shah said, adding that Amul was founded began as a cooperative movement in 1946 in Anand under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and cooperative leader Tribhuvandas Patel.  Shah said Amul was a model for the world.

Rupala echoed similar views and appreciated how Amul had helped in boosting the economy of the State particularly those living in rural areas. The scheme will provide critical credit linkage for different types of business by cooperatives, NCDC MD Sundeep K Nayak said in fluent Gujarati while introducing the main features of the scheme at the event.