Given the successes of the White Revolution, explore the necessity for White Revolution 2.0 and outline the initiatives undertaken for its implementation.

Why?

Milk is the food item Indians are spending the most on. To sustain high consumer demand and ensure a good income for farmers, focus needs to shift from hiking procurement prices to lowering production costs at the farm-gate.

Approach:

• Introduce your answer with White Revolution, its achievements and what is White Revolution 2.0.
• In the main body, address the necessity for White Revolution 2.0 emphasizing urbanization, climate change, and technological gaps, etc. Outline initiatives like the National Dairy Plan and Rashtriya Gokul Mission to address White Revolution 2.0 implementation.
• Conclude by affirming that White Revolution 2.0 aims to secure India’s dairy sector’s future, ensuring farmer prosperity and nutritional security.

Answer:

The White Revolution, also known as Operation Flood, transformed India from a milk-deficient nation into the world’s largest milk producer, enhancing the livelihoods of millions of rural households. Despite its success, the evolving challenges of climate change, increasing demand, and the need for sustainable practices necessitate White Revolution 2.0. It aims at further increasing milk production through technological advancements, ensuring sustainable dairy farming, improving milk quality, and enhancing the value chain from farm to fork.

Need for White Revolution 2.0:

• Urbanization and Changing Consumption Patterns: are increasing the demand for dairy products, necessitating higher production levels and diverse product offerings.
  • Milk emerged as the top food spend item in both rural and urban areas, according to Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, 2022-23.
• Chronic Fodder and Feed Scarcity: and high costs impact the cost-efficiency of milk production.
• Milk Quality Concerns: related to contamination and adulteration jeopardize consumer health and international market access.
• Inadequate Cold Chain Facilities: and high transportation costs lead to high spoilage rates and increased operational costs.
• Lower Productivity of Indigenous Breeds: compared to exotic breeds affect overall dairy output.
• Global Competitive Pressures: With the global dairy market becoming more competitive, there’s a pressing need to enhance the quality and efficiency of Indian dairy products to maintain and expand international market share.
• High Environmental Footprint: of dairy farming, including greenhouse gas emissions and water usage, requires innovative solutions to ensure the sector’s sustainability.
• Technological Lag: The gap in adopting modern technologies for dairy farming, processing, and supply chain management limits productivity and market responsiveness.
• Climate Change Impacts: cattle health and milk productivity, necessitating adaptation and resilience-building measures.

Initiatives Undertaken for Implementing White Revolution 2.0:

• National Dairy Plan (NDP): Aims at increasing productivity through breed improvement and providing rural milk producers with greater access to the organized milk processing sector.
  • Implementation of the Progeny Testing and Pedigree Selection programs for high-yielding cattle breeds.
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission: Focuses on conserving and developing indigenous cattle breeds to enhance milk production and quality.
  • Establishment of Gokul Grams to foster elite indigenous breeds.
• E-Pashu Haat Portal: An online portal for connecting breeders and farmers, facilitating the trade of high genetic merit animals.
• Fodder and Feed Development: Ensuring the availability of high-quality fodder and feed to improve productivity.
  • Subsidies for fodder development projects and introduction of high-yielding fodder varieties.
• Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF): Aimed at modernizing milk processing plants and infrastructure.
  • Financial assistance to cooperatives for setting up cold storage units and expanding processing capacities.
• Training and Skill Development: Providing training to farmers on modern dairy farming techniques and management practices by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
• Quality Assurance Mechanisms: Implementing stringent quality control measures and certification for dairy products.
  • National Dairy Plan Quality Mark.
• Encouraging Production and Promotion of Value-Added Products: for domestic and export markets.
  • Support for setting up units for cheese, yogurt, and other dairy product manufacturing.

The White Revolution transformed India into a global dairy leader, but evolving challenges call for White Revolution 2.0 which seeks to secure the future of India’s dairy sector, promote prosperity for farmers and ensure national nutritional security.

‘+1’ Value Addition:

• India’s dairy sector is characterised by ‘production by the masses’ rather than ‘mass production’. The sector provides direct employment to more than 80 million rural households.
• The value of the dairy business in India is expected to more than double from Rs13 lakh crore now to Rs30 lakh crore by 2027.
• NDDB is giving a push to micro units called MPOs (milk producing organisations).
• The Ministry of Cooperation plans to establish 2 lakh more primary dairy cooperative societies, enhancing farmers’ earnings from milk production. While farmers globally receive only 40-50% of milk profits, Indian dairy cooperatives return 70% of the consumer price to them.