India Keeps Agriculture & Dairy Out of FTAs to Protect Farmers
India has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, following earlier pacts with Australia, the UK, the UAE, Oman and the European Free Trade Association, while deliberately excluding agriculture and dairy from these deals to safeguard domestic producers. The strategy reflects India’s cautious approach after withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership…
India–NZ FTA Lets Dairy Be Processed Here, Not Sold Locally
The recently announced India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has clarified a key concern for India’s dairy sector: while tariff concessions and broader trade cooperation have been agreed upon, India has ruled out opening its domestic dairy market to direct imports from New Zealand. Consumer Affairs & Food Minister Piyush Goyal emphasized that the pact…
India’s Dairy Sector Emerges as Climate Adaptation Opportunity
India’s dairy industry — beyond being the world’s largest milk producer — is now being recognised as a strategic climate adaptation frontier where investments in resilience can protect both rural livelihoods and long-term food security. A recent analysis by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) highlights how climate change impacts — including heat stress, water scarcity, fodder…
Dairy and agricultural cooperative-based economic activities
The schemes implemented to strengthen rural dairy cooperatives are as under: National Programme for Dairy Development: Various activities under NPDD Component A and B scheme of DAHD are helping strengthening of Dairy Cooperative Societies in rural areas: NPDD component B is being implemented across 9 states. The objective of the scheme is to increase sales…
India Dairy: Scalability & Investability in Cost Pressure Era
Despite India’s position as the world’s largest milk producer — nearly 248 million tonnes annually — questions are emerging about the sector’s scalability and investability in the face of escalating input costs, infrastructure gaps and evolving consumer preferences. A recent OpenPR analysis highlights that while India’s dairy market remains structurally strong, several systemic challenges could…
TN Minister Urges Farmers to Adopt Tech for Value Addition in Dairy
In Coimbatore this week, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, Mano Thangaraj, called on dairy farmers to embrace modern technologies to boost productivity and value addition across the sector. The appeal came at a three-day dairy innovation exhibition where government officials, industry players and producers gathered to explore emerging tools and methods aimed…
Listen to the Farm, Not the Farmer—The New Productivity Lens
India’s dairy sector, valued at nearly $30 billion, has reached a point where incremental changes will not deliver the next breakthrough. For decades, improvement programs have focused on what farmers say they need — more subsidies, more schemes, more training modules. But a new thinking is emerging: productivity will improve only when we start listening…
Solar chillers uplift women dairy farmers in Rajasthan
In a notable move toward sustainable rural dairy, solar-powered milk-chilling units are helping women dairy farmers in Rajasthan reduce wastage and improve incomes — a model increasingly being recognized as a template for climate-resilient dairy development. According to the report, these chillers — powered by solar energy (harnessing abundant sunshine) — allow smallholder milk producers…
India–Russia eye big dairy & seafood trade push
India and Russia have initiated talks to deepen bilateral trade in dairy, meat and fisheries — a move that could reshape export-demand and significantly impact India’s dairy sector. At a recent meeting in New Delhi, India’s Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying met his Russian counterpart to discuss easing market-access restrictions, fast-tracking registration of…
Cow-Free Dairy Scores Early Wins; Scale Still a Challenge
Cow Free — Strauss Group’s animal-free dairy line made via precision-fermentation — launched in Israel in September 2025 and comprises a dairy-style beverage and a spread/cream-cheese alternative, produced using dairy protein (BLG) derived from yeast or fungi instead of cows. According to the company, everything released so far has sold out, indicating early consumer acceptance….