Context: Recently, Union Home and Cooperation Minister launched ‘White Revolution 2.0’, along with an action plan on the formation and strengthening of two lakh new Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies, dairy and fishery cooperatives and a standard operating procedure on ‘cooperation among cooperatives’.

About White Revolution 2.0

• It is a comprehensive initiative aimed at empowering women farmers and creating job opportunities.

• The programme focuses on four key areas - empowering women farmers, enhancing local milk production, strengthening dairy infrastructure and boosting dairy exports.

• Under White Revolution 2.0, the government aims to increase milk procurementby dairy cooperative societies by 50 percent over the next five years by providing market access to dairy farmers in uncovered villages/panchayats and increasing the share of the organized sector in milk procurement.

• The plan involves setting up and strengthening 100,000 newand existing district cooperative societies, multi-purpose district cooperative societies, and multi-purpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (M-PACS), which will be linked to milk routes with necessary infrastructure.

• Providing enabling infrastructure e.g. AMCU (Automatic Milk Collection Unit), DPMCU (Data Processing Milk Collection Units), testing equipment, Bulk Milk Coolers, etc., will be the key component of the initiative for carrying out dairy activities.

• Initially, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) will fund the initiative from its own resources, providing Rs 40,000 per M-PACS to 1,000 M-PACS.

• Future funding is expected from the proposed National Programme for Dairy Development 2.0

Key Objectives of White Revolution 2.0

• To officially acknowledge and involve women who work in the dairy industry.

• To promote financial independence by guaranteeing that the proceeds from the procurement of milk are immediately transferred into the bank accounts of women. 

• To Increase daily milk procurement from 660 lakh litres to 1,000 lakh litres.

• To enhance local cooperative institutions and increase community involvement and production capability.

• To boost local milk production by improving breeding processes, animal health, and nutrition, as well as implementing contemporary dairy farming methods.

• To improve dairy farm infrastructure, such as milk collection centres, cold storage facilities, and transportation networks. This guarantees that milk and dairy products are properly collected, processed, and distributed.

• To Improve milk production quality and quantity to increase dairy exports to increase dairy farmers' incomes.

Key Components and Initiatives

• The initiative promotes the development and strengthening of two lakh new Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (MPACS), dairy cooperatives, and fishing cooperatives to provide better support and resources to farmers.

• To improve farmers' financial inclusion and access to banking services, RuPay Kisan Credit Cards for dairy farmers will be implemented nationwide, and micro-ATMs will be installed in dairy cooperative societies.

• The government has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for computerising 67,930 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) to streamline procedures and increase efficiency in the cooperative sector. 

Dairy Sector in India

• Indian Dairy Sector contributes to nearly 5% of GDP and directly employs over 8 crore farmers.

• India contributes nearly 25% to the world's total milk output.

• According to the Food Outlook June 2023, the availability of milk per capita in India is 459 grammes per day, which is significantly more than the global average of 322 grammes per day.

Challenges and Road Ahead

• The initiative aims to improve dairy infrastructure, but implementing these projects might be difficult. The program's success depends on ensuring that infrastructure is developed in a timely and effective manner.

• Empowering women farmers and increasing local milk production requires significant training and capacity-building initiatives. Farmers must receive proper training in modern dairy farming techniques and best practices.

• Introducing RuPay Kisan Credit Cards and micro-ATMs is an encouraging step, but ensuring that all farmers have access to these services remains challenging. Efforts must be made to reach rural and underserved regions.

• It is critical to ensure the long-term viability of expanded dairy output and exports. This includes using environmentally friendly procedures and ensuring the health and well-being of dairy cows.