Every year, 26th Nov is celebrated as National Milk Day. It is held on this day to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien.
National Milk Day was first mooted by the Indian Dairy Association in 2014.
It was on the lines of World Milk Day observed on June 1 under UN FAO. This includes National Dairy Development Board, IDA along with 22 state level milk federations.
Dr. Kurien, known as the Father of the White Revolution in India, was a social entrepreneur. His billion litre idea Operation Flood made India the world’s largest milk producer
Operation Flood is the world’s largest agricultural dairy development program.
India was able to surpass the US by 1988, making 17 percent of the global output in 2010-2011.
Dairy farming became India’s largest self sustaining industry with benefits for employment, incomes, credit, nutrition, education, health, gender and caste parity and grassroots democracy and leadership.
Awards and honours bestowed on Dr. Kurien include:- Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963)
- World Food Prize (1989)
- Padma Shri (1965)
- Padma Bhushan (1966)
- Padma Vibhushan (1999).
Milk Production in India
- The Minister of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has indicated milk production has recorded a growth rate of 6.28 percent in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.
- Per capital availability of milk rose from 307 gram per day in 2013-14 to 340 grams per day in 2015-16, a growth of 5% which was below 3% before 2014-15.
- India is a world leader in milk production since the past 15 years.
- With 190.90 million cattle (as per the 19th Livestock Census 2012) has 13 percent of the world cattle population. Of this 151 million are indigenous, which marks 80 percent of the total cattle population.
- India is the world leader in bovine population having 18 percent of the world population
- The nation is also contributing 20 percent of milk in the world
