The article argues that India’s real White Revolution was not just Operation Flood under Kurien, but the foundational vision of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. In 1964, during a visit to Anand, Shastri was deeply impressed by the village-level dairy cooperative model already emerging there. He championed the creation of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965, appointing Verghese Kurien to replicate that transformation nationwide .
By institutionalizing a producer-owned cooperative framework, Shastri’s move set the stage for the 1969 launch of Operation Flood, later celebrated as the White Revolution. Unlike isolated improvements, this represented a strategic, decentralized dairy sector overhaul—anchored in Amul’s Anand model—giving farmers control over procurement, processing, marketing, and pricing .
As India’s largest milk producer since 1998, surpassing the US, this farmer-led transformation doubled per-capita milk availability and created enduring rural livelihoods . The NDDB’s continued evolution, including cooperative expansions and modern infrastructure, stems directly from Shastri’s early policy framework .
Industry Insight:
This analysis reframes the White Revolution as a policy-driven cooperative movement, not just a development program—underscoring the importance of cooperative-led models, community empowerment, and decentralized infrastructure for sustained dairy-sector growth and resilience.
Source : Dairynews7x7 June 24th 2025 Read the full story here