10 Important Facts about Verghese Kurien: Architect of India's White Revolution

Dr. Verghese Kurien was the creator behind our country's white revolution that benefitted India in becoming the largest producer of milk in the world. From 1965 till 1998, Dr.Kurien was the Founder Chairman for National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). He was with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) from 1965 till 1998. Apart from these, he was also associated with Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) from 1979 till 2006. His entire life professionally has been devoted to entrust the farmers of the country through co-operatives. His efforts helped in laying the infrastructure of the democratic businesses at the grass root level. He considered that by putting the technology and professional competency and authority to the farmers, the living standards of the country's people can be improved.

10 Fast facts on Verghese Kurien

- Dr. Kurien was born in Kozhikode, Kerala to a rich Syrian Christian family on November 26, 1921.

- At just 14-years of age, Dr. Kurien graduated in Science from Loyola College in the year 1940 and got an Engineering degree from Guindy College of Engineering based in  Chennai. Afterwards, he studied Dairy Engineering, in spite of the fact that he was discontent with it at that point.

- Dr.Kurien was a boxer while he was graduating from college. Apart from that he was also a military cadet. Initially, Dr.Kurien was interested in joining the military as an engineer.

- While being posted at Anand, Gujarat, later known as the Milk Capital of India. Kurien was about to leave, when Tribhuvandas Patel, who used to run Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, requested him to help out with the inexperienced operations with innovative support and those couple of months denoted the defining moment for Kurien, transforming him and that of a huge number of India's ranchers.

- Tribhuvandas Patel purchased new machinery and thereby increasing the productive capacity of the cooperative. Earlier the capacity was 200 litres in 1948, which later improved and increased to 20,000 litres in the year 1952. This has led to the growth of the Anand model of cooperation.

- The word "Amul" was taken up from a Sanskrit word "Amulya" meaning priceless. Amul was suggested by a laboratory chemist and the same also worked as an acronym of Tribhuvandas Patel.

- A vital innovation at Amul, the world's first, was the creation of milk powder from the plentiful buffalo milk, rather than from the regular cow milk, short in supply in the country.

- Ramon Magsaysay Award, Wateler Peace Prize, World Food Prize, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan are some of the awards received by Dr.Kurien.

- Kurien's help was vital in making the 'Amul girl" advertisement camping (publicizing with a bigger public message), one of the longest running ads throughout recent decades.

- After a short spell of sickness, Dr. Kurien died at the age of 90 years on September 9, 2012 at a hospital in Nadiad, close to Anand.