World Milk Day was celebrated on June 1, a day which is observed to recognize how critical milk is as a food worldwide. The nutrient value milk contains makes it a necessary item to be included in a meal.
Key highlights
- World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2001 with the aim of raising awareness regarding the importance of milk.
- FAO selected June 1 to align with many countries that already had events celebrating milk around this time of year.
- The theme for this year was the vital role dairy plays in delivering quality nutrition to nourish the world.
- Moreover, World Milk Day also promotes eco-friendly manufacturing methods to reduce water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
- The day also encourages animal welfare and their care.
India’s milk production
- India is the largest milk producer in the world and contributes around 25% to the global milk production.
- The milk production in the country grew at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.85% reaching 230.58 million tonnes of production in 2022-23 from 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15.
- The credit for this dominant position in milk production goes to the ‘White Revolution’.
About White Revolution
- The Government of India started the world’s largest dairy movement in 1970 with the White Revolution, also known as Operation Flood.
- The major goal of the initiative was to make India self-sufficient in milk production. Additionally, the target was to increase rural income and ensure affordable milk to consumers.
- The inspiration for the initiative was taken from the success of the Green Revolution that made India self-reliant in food production.
- The producers and sellers were connected with consumers across various cities as a part of the initiative. Moreover, new methods and technologies for animal husbandry were adopted, and the composition of feed ingredients was also altered.
- Milk cooperatives were started in different parts of the country to create a nationwide milk grid.
- This resulted in a significant rise in milk production. This initiative also modernised India’s dairy industry, addressed dairy needs, and promoted cross-breeding.
- Dr. Verghese Kurien, known as the Father of the White Revolution, was the brain behind the initiative.
