The Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that India would become the third largest economy in the world by the end of the decade where cooperative sector will play a pivotal role.
Speaking at IDF World Dairy Summit 2022 Amit Shah strongly emphasized that the union government is committed to further mainstreaming of cooperatives, and milk cooperatives in particular will be expanded to 2 lakh more villages by 2024, which means doubling the coverage area, and this growth engine would be visible to the world soon.
“From 11th position held in 2014, we have moved up to 5th largest economy position in the world recently. By the end of this decade, Indian economy is expected to break in the top three economies. I can assure you when that happens, the world will recognize Indian cooperatives as the new pillar of growth,” Shah asserted.
Pointing to the success of dairy cooperatives, he said, “The model is slated to become more robust in coming years.” India has about 8 crore dairy farmers of which cooperatives have expanded to 2 lakh villages, he said adding, “we are working for the further expansion of dairy cooperatives footprint and expecting two lakh more villages to become its part.”
Calling cooperative structure a great institutional framework for large-scale transformative or socio-economic changes, the Union Home and Cooperative Minister further emphasized that considering its leadership positioning in the global dairy business, India should aim to provide good quality and affordable milk and milk products to other countries. “There are milk-starved countries.
We should become the most reliable global milk supplier to everyone,” he said while adding that to shore up production in the coming years, the country should also look at options to become self-reliant in the machinery used in the dairy industry.
Speaking on occasion UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the state had set afoot to create more milk clusters by promoting local cooperatives. “In 2019, we created a farmer’s organization – Balinee – in Bundelkhand which has spread its wings to 795 villages in the region comprising over 41,000 farmers. They are producing 1.35 lakh litre and their annual revenue is close to Rs 150 crore. It’s quite a success story. We are now working to create similar milk clusters at five more locations in the state,” Yogi, who inaugurated all women milk producer organization of farmers ‘Balinee’, said.
The session also saw address from Piercristiano Brazzale, President, IDF who batted for further strengthening of cooperative sector in the global dairy business. “Dairy cooperatives play a key role worldwide accounting for 30 percent of the total global output. Giving a boost to them will be critical for expanding the production base in the future,” he said.
Earlier NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah welcomed the Union Cooperation Minister and the UP Chief Minister, said Cooperatives are playing a very significant role and playing a pivotal role in India’s economic growth and welfare of the dairy farmers in particular. He also thanked the Union Government for beneficial schemes for dairy sector and farmers.
