Introduction to White Revolution
After the success of the green revolution in India, the government started operation flood which then led to the white revolution in the country. This white revolution was started with an aim to make India the biggest producer of milk in the world.
What is White Revolution?
White revolution is considered to be one of the largest dairy movements started by the government of India in the year 1970. The program which was initiated that further led to the white revolution is called operation flood. This initiative by the Indian government proved to be revolutionary as it connected the milk producers and sellers of the country to consumers from about 700 towns and cities across the country.
The primary aim of white revolution was to make India a self-dependent country in milk production. This movement helped to increase the productivity of milk in the country which was then sold at competitive market prices. The white revolution also increased the demand for dairy animals and initiated the use of modern technology in the dairy industry.
The father of white revolution is Dr. Verghese Kurien, who was also the founder of Amul which is now the largest producer of milk in the country. Dr. Verghese Kurien along with H.M. Dalaya also invented the process of making milk powder from condensed buffalo milk.
The key features of the white revolution were to adopt new methods for animal husbandry and altering the composition of feed ingredients. The revolution was started with three main objectives—increasing the production of milk, increasing the income of the rural population and providing milk to consumers at fair prices.
The white revolution proved to be very advantageous to the country with many advantages like ending the imports of milk solids in India, modernising the dairy industries and infrastructures, meeting the dairy needs and improving the genetics of milking animals by cross breeding.
Phases of White Revolution
The white revolution was initiated in three phases— phase I, phase II and phase III.
Phase I The first phase was started in the year 1970 with an objective of setting up milk co-operatives in 18 milk sheds in 10 states.
Phase II This phase led to the dairy development in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Phase III This phase aimed at consolidating the aim of the first two phases by improving the productivity and efficiency of the dairy sector.
