National Milk Day is celebrated on 26 November to commemorate the birth anniversary of late Amul chairman Dr. Verghese Kurien, Fondly known as the Milkman of India.
Although Kurien passed away in 2012, his ideas still live on in companies that are on a mission to bring milk to the masses. The Indian date was fixed in 2014 when all the dairy majors of the country along with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), and 22 state level milk federations, resolved to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Verghese as National Milk Day, ‘the father of India’s White Revolution’ and the man who helped India to become world’s largest milk producer.
Natoional milk Day isn’t the same as World Milk Day, which is marked on June 1st, and was established by the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
National Milk Day Schemes
Social enterpreneur Dr. Verghese Kurien’s ‘billion-litre idea’ gave birth to Operation Flood that made dairy farming India’s largest self-sustaining industry.
Operation Flood is said to be the world’s largest agricultural dairy development programme Kurien’s efforts helped in making dairy farming in India the largest self-sustaining industry and also the largest employment provider in the rural side.
The Operation Flood was launched in 1970 by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to provide independence to the dairy farmers. Hundreds of towns and cities were connected by the National Milk Grid, which not only helped in closing the gap between milk producers and customers but also reduce price variations. It resulted in helping hike production of milk, increase rural incomes and offer fair prices to the consumers.
At that time the chairman of NDDB was Dr. Verghese Kurien, who is also considered as the architect of India’s White Revolution or Operation Flood. He gave management skills and essential thrust to the cooperative sector.
The scheme also helped in creating national milk grid linking producers throughout India and helped in limiting the role of the middlemen.
Amul cooperative is India’s largest food brand at present, where no milk from a farmer was refused. Roughly, 70–80 percent of the price by customers went as cash to dairy farmers who looked after the overall marketing, the procurement and the processing of milk.
On the special day, Amul tweeted, “As a passionate dreamer, Dr Verghese Kurien formed the largest women’s co-operative movement in India. As a forward-thinking technologist, he made a milk-deficient country the largest milk producer in the world. Today we celebrate his 98th birth anniversary.”
Besides, Amul has launched the National Milk Day Bike Rally campaign in its late chairman Dr Verghese Kurien’s honour which will start from Varanasi and end in Anand, Gujarat.
National Milk Day Images at India Content
The India Content website has a good stock of National Milk Day Images. The pictures are available in three sizes – small, medium and large.
