Shah launches 'White Revolution 2.0' to boost dairy sector

In a major push to transform India's dairy cooperative sector, Union Minister Amit Shah on Thursday unveiled 'White Revolution 2.0', a comprehensive initiative aimed at empowering women farmers and creating job opportunities.

programme focuses on four key areas - empowering women farmers, enhancing local milk production, strengning dairy infrastructure, and boosting dairy exports. programme is one of three initiatives undertaken in first 100 days of Modi government's third term.

"Maximum women are engd in dairy sector, with some generating business worth Rs 60,000 crore in Gujarat alone. This new initiative will focus on empowering women and furr strengning fight against malnutrition," Shah said while dressing garing.

minister also launched nationwide rollout of RuPay Kisan Credit Cards for dairy farmers and installation of micro-ATMs at dairy cooperative societies. ditionally, he released standard operating procedures for computerisation of 67,930 Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS).

Under White Revolution 2.0, government aims to increase milk procurement by dairy cooperative societies by 50 per cent over next five years.

plan involves setting up and strengning 1,00,000 new and existing district cooperative societies, multi-purpose district cooperative societies, and multi-purpose PACS, which will be linked to milk routes with necessary infrastructure.

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

Shah assured full budgetary support for programme, stating, "Many have apprehensions about wher White Revolution 2.0 will get sufficient budgetary support. I assure full budget support for this as it is a top priority sector for government."

minister also anunced nationwide expansion of 'Cooperation among Cooperatives' initiative, which was successfully piloted in Gujarat .

This programme will provide interest-free cash credit to dairy farmers through RuPay-Kisan Credit Cards and distribute micro-ATMs to dairy cooperative societies, bringing banking services to farmers' doorsteps.

Emphasising need for reforms in cooperative sector, Shah said, "While re were reforms in different sectors in country in past 70 years, timely reforms were t undertaken in cooperative sector. purpose behind establishing a separate cooperation ministry was to revive and modernise cooperative sector and create job opportunities."

With se initiatives, government aims to strengn and expand cooperative sector, potentially benefiting about 13 crore farmers across country.