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The White Revolution: A beginning

© Courtesy of AMUL

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurates the Anand Plant

1940s - Kaira Union (AMUL), a milk cooperative, faced a problem. Their surplus milk could not be sold.
The livelihood of thousands of milk farmers was in jeopardy.

Dr. Verghese Kurien, the legendary “Father of the White Revolution”, convinced UNICEF and others that the surplus buffalo milk could be converted into powder.

1954 - UNICEF signed an agreement with the Government of India to fund the Aarey and Anand milk processing plants. In return free and subsidised milk would be provided to needy children in the area.

© Courtesy of AMUL

Free milk is distributed to thousands of children.

Within a decade, India had thirteen UNICEF assisted milk processing plants.

Today, cooperatives produce an average 15.6 million liters of milk per day. They operate in 346 districts and have 12.3 million farmer members, many of them women.

India has become the world’s largest producer of milk with an annual value of  INR 950 billion.