National Dairy Development Board: A Successful Indian Dairy Co-operative Movement

While Amul laid the foundation for a systematic approach to dairy development in India, through the early 1950s, the government also began its efforts to modernize the dairy industry. As a part of this, it made modernization of the industry a priority under the first Five-Year Plan of India in 1951. Under this, the government set itself the goal of providing hygienic milk to the growing urban population. To achieve this goal, the government encouraged establishment of dairy co-operative societies and also organized 'milk schemes' in all major cities across the country. It also implemented the Intensive Cattle Development Project (ICDP), which focused on artificial insemination and veterinary services and the Small Farmer Development Agencies (SFDA) which offered cattle farmers (milk producers), financial aid to enhance milk production. In 1959, the government introduced the 'Delhi Milk Scheme' to cater to the milk requirements of the national capital, Delhi. Under this scheme, government milk plants collected milk at chilling centers through middlemen...