India’s dairy: leaps in output, cooperatives & women empowerment
The latest PIB release highlights India’s remarkable strides in dairying: over the past decade, milk production surged by 63.56% (from 146.30 to 239.30 million tonnes), while per capita availability rose 48% to 471 g/day — well above the global average. India continues to hold the top global rank in milk output and contributes nearly a quarter of the world’s supply. Dairy today is India’s largest agricultural product, generating about 5% of national GDP and directly involving over 80 million rural households.
The cooperative network is robust: 22 milk federations, 241 district unions, 28 marketing dairies, and 25 Milk Producer Organisations reach out across ~2.35 lakh villages and include ~1.72 crore dairy farmer members. Women are central to this transformation: about 70% of dairy labour is performed by women, and over 48,000 women-led village dairy cooperatives operate across India. With the formal launch of White Revolution 2.0, the government aims by 2028–29 to expand cooperative coverage, boost milk procurement (target: 1007 lakh kg per day), and strengthen circularity via integrated inputs (feed, manure conversion, biogas) to support sustainable growth.
Industry Insights
These figures underscore how dairy has evolved from a subsistence activity to a strategic pillar of India’s rural economy. The rapid expansion in production and per capita supply indicates better farm practices, breed upgrades, and cooperative efficiency. Yet, to preserve quality, sustain farmer incomes, and scale exports, the next phase must emphasize technology adoption — from milking machines to cooling systems to biogas plants — and address the tax, credit, and input policy constraints that hinder mechanization. The aggressive goals of White Revolution 2.0 require that cooperatives serve not merely as milk aggregators but as integrated service hubs providing feed, veterinary care, and waste-to-energy solutions. If these goals are met, India’s dairy sector could confidently claim not just scale, but also global competitiveness in both volume and value.
Source : DAirynews7x7 Sep 30th 2025 Read full story here