India's Scientific and Technological Progress

 White Revolution

  • The White Revolution in India, also known as Operation Flood was launched in the 1970s to make India self dependent in milk production. Dr Verghese Kurien is known as the father of The White Revolution in India. Currently India is the world's largest milk producer.

    • At the time of the independence, India was not only importing food grains but also milk products like baby food, butter and cheese. In 1955, India was importing 500 tonnes of butter and 3000 tonnes of baby food from dairy companies in Europe. 



Operation Flood

  • Operation flood was launched in 1970, it is one of the world's largest rural development programmes. This program has helped in the development of dairy farmers. The objectives of the program included:

    • Increase milk production ("a flood of milk")

    • Augment rural incomes

    • Reasonable prices for consumers

  • Cooperative movement: The bedrock of Operation Flood has been village milk producers' cooperatives, which procure milk and provide inputs and services, making modern management and technology available to members. 

  • Contribution: Operation flood wasn’t just a dairy program; it meant development, self-sufficiency, employment generation and regular incomes for millions of rural people.  

    • Many institutions were established, such as GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd) and NDDB (National Dairy Development Board).

Phases of Operation Flood

  • Phase 1: Started in 1970 with the objective of setting up dairy cooperatives in 18 milk sheds in India’s four major metropolitan cities. 

    • By the end of 1981, there were 13,000 village dairy cooperatives covering 15,000 farmers.

  • Phase 2: From 1981 to 1985, there was an increase in the number of milk sheds from 18 to 136; with 290 urban markets opening up and increasing the number of milk outlets.

    • By the end of 1985, there were 43,000 village cooperatives covering 4.25 million milk producers. EEC and World Bank loans helped India achieve a sense of self- reliance as well.

  • Phase 3: From 1985 to 1996, cooperatives further expanded and the infrastructure was further strengthened to increase production. There was an addition of 30,000 new diary cooperatives. 

    • Member education was strengthened and there was an increase in the number of women members. This phase also gave additional importance to research and development in animal health and nutrition.

History of Cooperative Movement 

  • The dairy movement had started in 1946 with the founding of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel.

    • In 1949, Verghese Kurien arrived in Anand and became General Manager of the cooperative in 1950. 

  • Challenges for cooperatives: 

    • The dairy faced a problem of fluctuating milk production as surplus milk would find no takers. 

    • European dairy companies were not willing to part with milk powder technology and were of the view that buffalo milk can’t be converted into milk powder. 

  • Technology developed: 

    • H M Dalaya, a young diary engineer working with Dr Verghese Kurien at Anand, demonstrated with experiments that buffalo milk can be converted into milk powder.

    • Dalaya assembled a device using a spray paint gun and an air heater to make powder from buffalo milk, for the first time in the world. Later he showed that a commercially available machine, Niro Atomizer, could do the same. 

    • This laid the foundation for a dairy revolution in India and a national milk grid, making the country self-sufficient.

      • A National Milk Grid links milk producers throughout India with consumers in over 700 towns and cities, reducing seasonal and regional price variations while ensuring that the producer gets fair market prices in a transparent manner on a regular basis.

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

  • National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is an Institution of National Importance set up by an Act of Parliament of India.

    • It was initially registered as a society under the Societies Act 1860, was merged with the erstwhile Indian Dairy Corporation, a company formed and registered under the Companies Act 1956, by the NDDB Act 1987.

  • It was founded by Dr. Verghese Kurien in 1965 with headquarters at Anand, Gujarat.

NDDB's subsidiaries include- IDMC Limited-Anand, Mother Dairy, Delhi, NDDB Dairy Services, Delhi and Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad.

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