Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Mega Dairy in Mandya, Karnataka on December 30. Several dignitaries attended the event, including Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji, the 72nd Pontiff of Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, Mandya, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, and Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi.
Amit Shah paid tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother and stated that the entire country is standing by the Prime Minister in this hour of grief. The Union Home and Cooperation Minister stated that since the country's independence, farmers have demanded a Ministry of Cooperation separate from the Ministry of Agriculture. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying the groundwork for farmer development by establishing a separate Ministry of Cooperation.
Shah stated that from the inaugural platform of Mandya Mega Dairy, he wishes to inform cooperative workers across the country that the Government of India has decided that there will be no injustice to cooperatives. According to the Union Cooperation Minister, the mega dairy, which was inaugurated at a cost of Rs 260 crore, will process 10 lakh litres of milk per day and will have the capacity to increase to 14 lakh litres per day. He claimed that processing 10 lakh litres of milk brings prosperity to the homes of lakhs of farmers.
According to Shah, cooperative dairy is doing very well in Karnataka. Today, Karnataka has 15,210 village level cooperative dairies where approximately 26.22 lakh farmers deliver their milk daily, and Rs 28 crore is deposited into the accounts of 26 lakh farmers every day through 16 district level dairies.
According to Amit Shah, in 1975, approximately 66,000 kg of milk was processed daily in Karnataka, but today, over 82 lakh kg of milk is processed daily, with farmers receiving 80% of the total revenue. According to the Union Cooperation Minister, the White Revolution in Gujarat has changed the fortunes of farmers, and Amul deposits 60,000 crore rupees into the bank accounts of approximately 36 lakh women each year.
Amul and Nandini will work together to establish primary dairies in every village in Karnataka over the next three years, and that there will not be a single village in Karnataka where primary dairy has not been established. According to Amit Shah, the government has decided that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the Ministry of Cooperation will establish a primary dairy in each panchayat in the country within the next three years, and a comprehensive action plan has been prepared in this regard.
He stated that two lakh primary dairies will be established at the village level across the country in three years, allowing India to become a major exporter of milk by connecting the country's farmers with the White Revolution. The Union Home and Cooperation Minister stated that Amul will provide technical support, cooperative sector support, and overall operational support to the Karnataka Milk Federation, and that the Ministry of Cooperation will address all of its requirements.
Amit Shah stated that the government, led by Bommai, credits Rs. 1,250 crore annually through DBT to the accounts of milk producing farmers, and that milk is provided to 65 lakh children in 51,000 government schools and 39 lakh children in 64,000 Anganwadis to combat childhood malnutrition through the Ksheer Bhagya scheme. Amit Shah congratulated the Chairman of the Mandya Milk Producers Committee on his efforts to increase the income of all Mandya district farmers through dairy farming.
