White Revolution in India

The white revolution in India is referred to as the dairy development programme which aimed towards increasing the production of milk throughout the country, it was also aimed at providing a qualitative product rather than just increasing the overall quantity of the production. The white revolution is also termed Operation Flood, it is one of the most important landmarks of the dairy production of the country. 

The white revolution is related to reforming the country as the largest producer of milk, prior to the white revolution India was considered as a milk deficient country of the world. The white revolution is also known as the milk revolution in India, it is named so because the white revolution is associated with increasing the overall production capacity of dairy. 

Who Started the White Revolution in India?

The white revolution started in India in 1970, was started by Dr Verghese Kurien, he is the planner and visionary of Operation Flood in India. Because of his contributions towards the white revolution in India, he is referred to as the Father of The White Revolution in India. 

Verghese Kurien, the visionary of the white revolution in India, served as the chairman and founder of Amul. He also served as the Chairman of NDDB. The NDDB is the National Dairy Development Board of India. This board looks after the development and issues and disputes related to the production, processing and marketing of milk and other dairy products in India. Dr Verghese Kurien was designated as the Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board of India by the then serving Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri.

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The Objective of the White Revolution in India

We have already seen the introduction, impact of the white revolution but it is important to understand the basic objective of the operation that was mentioned in Operation Flood. One of the main focuses of this operation was the elimination of the middlemen in the industry. 

The operation achieved the goal by establishing a milk grid. These linked the producers to the consumers throughout the nation. This led to the reduction in seasonal and regional price variations while affirming the producers to gain the maximum share by removing the middlemen from the business. 

Operation Flood in essence procures the milk, provides inputs and services, making modern management and technology available to all the members. The main objective of the white revolution is as follows,

• Increase in the production capacity of milk.

• Augmented rural incomes

• Even prices for the consumers.

• A fair share of percentage for the producers. 

• Assuring the financial independence of the citizens of rural areas.

Impact of Milk-White Revolution in India

As we have understood what is the white revolution in India and the regulating body of the revolution, we have also seen a summary of the architect of the milk-white revolution in India, we can now discuss the impact of the operation and understand how the white revolution is related with the overall development of the economy.  

While discussing the impact it is very important to note that the operation not only did excellent on the wide-scale commercialization of the product, it also was a major landmark and is seen as an important part of the industrialization of the micro-scale economy. The Operation Flood is considered as an operation by the masses for the masses, it helped in generating jobs, creating a marketplace, it explored the market potential of previously remote rural areas. One of the most important impacts on the socio-economic conditions of rural India was the financial independence and aid it provided to the women of those areas. India is an agro-based economy, the development of the white revolution in India paved the path of sustainable development of the agricultural, dairy, fishery and other industries.

The impact of the white revolution is associated with the overall development of the dairy sector, this statement can be better understood by looking into the statistical data provided by the National Dairy Development Board of India. In 1988 India became the largest producer of milk in the world surpassing the production of America as a result of the implementation of the policies of the milk revolution. The overall production of milk by India recorded in 2018 was 22.29 per cent of the global output. 

Since the launch of the revolution in 1970, India has doubled the availability of milk per person within the span of 30 years. The dairy industry is now India's largest self-sustainable rural employment generator, it helps in creating autonomy of resources for the people. 

The major technological success which was the result of the white revolution in India was the development of a formula to convert buffalo milk into skim milk powder. This created huge profits and was one of the factors creating the feedback loop of increased production. Attributes to this successful venture are given to Harichand Megha Dalaya, who served as the founder of The Anand Pattern Experiment at Amul, a dairy co-operative.

Phases of milk revolution in India

As we have discussed the importance, impact and general idea of the white revolution in India it is important to have a detailed understanding of the operation and steps in the implementation of the operation. The white revolution started in India in 1970 by Verghese Kurien and Harichand Megha Dalaya. There were three phases of the white revolution in India, they were named phase I, phase II and phase III.

Phase I

Phase I started in 1970 extended till 1980. The phase is financed by the European Economic Community (EEC). The sale was also financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil.

The major 18 cities were linked in this phase of the Operation Flood including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, establishing mother dairies in the four metros. The development of the dairy sector in India led to an increase in production and procurement.

Phase II

The second phase of Operation Flood was associated with the increase from 18 milk sheds to 136 milk sheds, this phase second of the operation started in 1981 and continued till 1985. The main aim of phase second was the expansion of the urban market. Another important feature of the second phase was the increase in the total production of the milk skim powder from 22,000 tons to 140,000 tons.

Phase III

The third phase of the operation flood was associated with expanding and strengthening the infrastructure of the cooperatives, this led to the increased procurement and increased volumes of milk production. The phase started in 1986 and extended till 1966. The number of cooperatives by the end of the third phase is 73000.

The total production of milk in the nation can be summarized by the statistical data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. The table mentioned below provides the data on Milk Production and Per Capita Availability in India. 

Features of the White Revolution in India

It is evident from the discussion that the white revolution in India was a very successful venture that led to the increased production of milk and led India to become the largest producer of milk in the nation. There are some key features of the white revolution mentioned below.

• Technical developments in equipment used in the cattle industry.

• Improvised conditions and food composition of the cattle, this is done to ensure that the animal is better adjusted to the environment and will yield more milk.

• Elimination of the middlemen from the marketplace.

• Better control over resources by the primary producers. 

Criticism Regarding Operation Flood

Although the operation was a huge success, there was some minor criticism related to the operation, one such argument was the loss of Indian breed of cattle due to the need to produce more milk, imported breed of cows and buffalos were brought into the country this created the decline in the popularity of the native breeds in India. The second argument was the extension of this that due to increased competition to produce more milk, some of the producers were forced to buy the imported breeds. 

In conclusion, the operation was launched to develop the dairy industry of the nation and was aimed to support and develop the farmers and producers of the rural areas of India.