New Delhi || 19-12-2024
Under the Chairpersonship of Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, a meeting was held on 18 December in New Delhi to review the ‘Milk Situation’ in the country. The meeting was attended by representatives from National Dairy Development Board (NDDB),National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) along with officials of DAHD and State Cooperative Dairy Federations Milk Unions across the country. Milk situation in the country and the progress being made by the State Milk Federations were discussed in detail during the review.
Secretary (DAHD), Alka Upadhyaya emphasized that India holds the top position globally in milk production, generating approximately 239.3 million metric tons in the year 2023-24. She exhorted that Dairy Federations should focus on enhancing milk procurement and increasing the price paid to the farmers, while also considering consumer interests.
Secretary DAHD said that the overall milk situation in the country is stable and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) & Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the year-on-year inflation rates for milk recorded at 2.09 and 2.85 respectively for the month of November 2024. There is an adequate commodity stock of Skimmed Milk Powder, Whole Milk Powder, White Butter, and Ghee. At the same time, there has been an improvement in milk procurement and milk procurement prices over the years.
She advised, all Milk Federations to take up active participation in the Midday Meal and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programs of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD), as these represent the largest institutional domestic market for the dairy sector.
During the meeting , the initiatives undertaken by the State Milk Federations such as Amul (Gujarat), Nandini (Karnataka), Saras (Rajasthan), and Megha (Jharkhand) were commended.
A detailed discussion was held concerning the strategies and initiatives required to further enhance the processing of milk to value-added products and accordingly detailed presentations was made by NDDB which also offered support to the states for evaluating projects under National Programme for Dairy Development particularly in light of evolving consumer preferences for packaged milk and value-added offerings.
