The fully automatic Madhur Dairy facility in Gandhinagar will initially process 2.5 lakh litres of milk daily, with capacity planned to double in the coming yeaMilk
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a new milk-processing plant of Madhur Dairy at Dashela in Gandhinagar, with the facility expected to strengthen dairy infrastructure and boost income for livestock farmers in the region.
Built across 15 acres at a cost of Rs 128 crore, the fully automatic plant has an initial milk-processing capacity of 2.5 lakh litres per day, which will later be expanded to 5 lakh litres daily.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said nearly 75 per cent of the profits remaining after operational expenses would be transferred directly to livestock farmers’ bank accounts.
Calling the dairy sector an important tool for women’s empowerment, Shah said Gujarat currently procures nearly 3 crore litres of milk every day through 3.6 million women livestock farmers. He added that around Rs 200 crore is deposited into their bank accounts daily through dairy operations.
Sharing his observations on the sector’s social impact, Shah said women who were once financially dependent have now become the “heads of their households” because of opportunities created through dairy cooperatives.
Focus On White Revolution 2.0
The Union Minister said the government aims to increase livestock farmers’ income by at least 20 per cent through a “circular economy” model in the dairy sector. Referring to the growing demand for Amul products, he said the company’s sugar-free chocolate currently ranks first in India’s sugar-free chocolate category.
Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s White Revolution 2.0 vision, Shah said India has set a target to triple milk production over the next decade. He also highlighted the use of technology in improving dairy farmers’ profitability and referred to the AI-powered digital assistant ‘Saralaben’, launched recently to support rural women engaged in animal husbandry and farming.
Praising the progress of Madhur Dairy, Shah said the cooperative had carried forward the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Tribhuvandas Patel and Verghese Kurien.
He noted that Madhur Dairy began operations in 1971 with four cooperative societies and milk collection of 6,000 litres, and has since grown into a business with an annual turnover of Rs 268 crore.
Gujarat CM Highlights Cooperative Growth
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the state has long been associated with the spirit of cooperation and that the sector has evolved further under the Centre’s focus on ‘Prosperity through Cooperation’.
Recalling the dairy’s growth journey, Patel said Madhur Dairy started more than five decades ago with only a few milk producers’ cooperative societies and has now become a widely recognised dairy brand in Gandhinagar.
He also highlighted the role of the Gandhinagar District Milk Producers’ Union’s consumer cooperative society, which has been operational for the last 50 years and currently distributes Madhur Dairy milk through 230 centres with nearly 15,000 members.
During the programme, Patel congratulated Shah on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections and said the results reflected public support for the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah.
