In News
- Recently, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying celebrated “National Milk Day” to commemorate the 101st birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien.
About
- He was born on November 26, 1921, in present-day- Kozhikode, Kerala.
- His ideas and contributions made him the “Father of the White Revolution in India” and the ‘Milkman of India’.
- Achievements:
- Played an instrumental role in making India the largest milk producer in the world.
- He was the man behind Operation Flood which led to dairy farming becoming the country’s largest self-sustaining industry, as well as the largest rural employment sector.
- He also helped set up the Amul cooperative society in 1946, in Gujarat’s Anand.
- In 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri assigned Dr. Kurien to create the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
- Dr Kurien also founded the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in 1979 and managed the Delhi Milk Scheme by correcting the prices.
- Awards:
- Padma Vibhushan (1999),
- the World Food Prize (1989),
- Krishi Ratna (1986),
- Padma Bhushan (1966),
- Padma Shri (1965),
- Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963), etc.
Operation Flood
- About:
- It was the world’s biggest dairy development program which gave a major thrust to the milk production of the nation. .
- Launched in 1970, it was the brainchild of Dr Verghese Kurein.
- Objectives:
- Increase milk production (“a flood of milk”)
- Augment rural incomes
- Reasonable prices for consumers
Source: PIB
