The Indian Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has greenlit the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD), enhancing its budget by an additional Rs 1000 crore, now reaching Rs 2790 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-2026), according to an official statement.
This revamped initiative targets the modernization and expansion of dairy infrastructure to bolster the sector’s growth and productivity. The NPDD aims to enhance milk procurement, processing capacities, and quality control, thereby providing farmers with better market access and pricing through value additions.
Key components of the scheme include improving dairy infrastructure, such as milk chilling plants and testing labs, and promoting new village dairy cooperative societies. The initiative also emphasizes sustainable dairy development with the help of international cooperation, notably from Japan, benefiting over 18.74 lakh farmers and generating over 30,000 job opportunities to date.
(With inputs from agencies.)
