Dairy Technology: Big Potential, Slow Uptake

The Indian dairy sector has been undergoing a far more consequential transformation, from a volume-driven ecosystem to a technology-led, science-backed, and innovation-oriented industry. The country, known for its Operation Flood and White Revolution 2.0, has helped the rural economy at large. With technology in hand, the next phase of growth is touted to be a game-changer for the dairy industry. However, these technologies come at a cost, and how far they can penetrate dairy farmers in remote areas remains a question.

- Sanjiv Das

India stands first in global milk production and contributes nearly a quarter of the world's supply.

Initiatives like Operation Flood and White Revolution 2.0 have helped the rural economy and have also become the centre stage for food and nutritional security. As per the National Accounts Statistics, the dairy sector contributes 5 per cent to the national economy and directly employs more than 8 crore farmers. It can be noted that the majority of the farmers are marginal and many are women.

According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, milk production rose by 63.56 per cent from 146.30 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 239.30 million tonnes in 2023-24. Amidst this humongous growth, technology has been playing a key role in enhancing the dairy sector.

Key Govt Initiatives

The Union Cabinet in March 2025 approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD). The Revised NPDD, a Central Sector Scheme, has been enhanced with an additional Rs1000 crore, bringing the total budget to Rs 2790 crore for the period of the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). This initiative focuses on modernising and expanding dairy infrastructure, ensuring the sector's sustained growth and productivity.

The revised NPDD will give an impetus to the dairy sector by creating infrastructure for milk procurement, processing capacity, and ensuring better quality control. The implementation of NPDD has made a huge socioeconomic impact already benefiting over 18.74 lakh farmers and has created over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and increased milk procurement capacity by an additional 100.95 lakh litres per day.