Economic Survey Says Per Capita Milk Availability Increased to 427 Grams/Day

India's per capita milk availability has increased to 427 grams per day in 2020-21, up from 319 grams in 2014-15, thanks to a greater concentration on agricultural allied sectors like animal husbandry.

According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, the livestock industry, which includes animal husbandry, dairying, and fisheries, increased at an annual rate of 8.15 percent from 2014-15 to 2019-20 (at constant prices).

"It has been noted that even segments such as marine products, buffalo meat, tea, coffee, and dairy products, which did not perform well in 2020-21, have shown significant increase this year."

This bodes well for agricultural export diversification and strengthening in the next years, according to the Survey. Meat availability per capita has risen to 6.52 kg per year in 2020-21, up from 5.32 kg in 2014-15. From 62 eggs per person per year in 2014-15, egg availability has increased to 91 eggs per person per year.

According to the National Accounts Statistics (NAS) 2020 forecasts, the livestock sector is a significant subsector of agriculture in the Indian economy, providing 29.35 percent of total agricultural and allied sector gross value added (GVA) in 2019-20, up from 24.32 percent in 2014-15. In 2019-20, the livestock sector provided 4.35 percent of total GVA.

Other High Growth Sectors

According to the current SAS, allied sectors such as animal husbandry, dairying, and fishing are steadily emerging as high-growth sectors. The livestock sector has been a consistent source of income across groups of agricultural households, accounting for around 15% of their average monthly income.

This is in keeping with the Committee's recommendations on Doubling Farmers' Income, which urged a stronger focus on allied sectors to boost farmer income. Dairy is the single largest agricultural commodity, contributing 5% of the national economy and directly employing over eight crore farmers, according to the Economic Survey 2021-22.

From 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 209.96 million tonnes in 2020-21, India's milk output has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 6.2 percent.

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