Cabinet Approves Revised National Program for Dairy Development, Allocates ₹2,790 Crore

New Delhi— The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD), increasing its budget by ₹1,000 crore to a total of ₹2,790 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). The revised scheme aims to modernize dairy infrastructure, strengthen milk procurement systems, and improve quality control, benefiting millions of farmers across India.

The NPDD consists of two key components. Component A focuses on enhancing essential dairy infrastructure, such as milk chilling plants, advanced milk testing laboratories, and certification systems. It also supports the formation of new village dairy cooperative societies and boosts milk procurement and processing capacities in the North Eastern Region (NER), hilly states, and Union Territories (UTs). Additionally, two new Milk Producer Companies (MPCs) will be established with dedicated grant support.

Component B, known as “Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC),” continues India’s collaboration with Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to strengthen dairy cooperatives. This component targets nine states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal — focusing on enhancing production, processing, and marketing infrastructure.

Since its inception, the NPDD has significantly impacted the dairy sector, benefiting over 18.74 lakh farmers and creating more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. The program has increased milk procurement capacity by 100.95 lakh liters per day and upgraded over 51,777 village-level milk testing laboratories. Additionally, 5,123 bulk milk coolers with a combined capacity of 123.33 lakh liters have been installed, and 169 labs now feature advanced Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) milk analyzers for better quality control.

The revised program is expected to create 10,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies and generate around 3.2 lakh additional job opportunities, with women making up 70% of the dairy workforce. The initiative aligns with India’s push for White Revolution 2.0, aiming to boost rural livelihoods, strengthen dairy infrastructure, and ensure a sustainable future for the sector.