ANAND, 9 July 2025: Marking the fourth anniversary of the Ministry of Cooperation, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a slew of dairy and cooperative sector initiatives in Anand, Gujarat, cumulatively valued at over INR 400 crore.
Coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary year of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the birth anniversary of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the event witnessed the formal launch of the Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Ltd., along with the unveiling of its logo.
In a significant push to India’s dairy infrastructure, Shah inaugurated the expanded Amul cheese plant in Khatraj and the upgraded Amul chocolate plant in Mogar, which has doubled its production capacity to 60 tonnes per day. He also inaugurated the Ready-to-Use Culture (RUC) facility developed by NDDB at a cost of INR 45 crore, aimed at bolstering India’s indigenous dairy cultures.
Further, Shah opened the new headquarters of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) — Maniben Patel Bhawan — and laid the foundation stone for a new office complex for NDDB.
Focus on tech, transparency and women's cooperatives
Addressing cooperative leaders and farmers, Shah underscored the ministry’s five-pillar strategy: People, PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies), Platform, Policy, and Prosperity. Emphasising inclusive development, he said, “Prosperity must not be confined to the wealthy. It must uplift farmers, daily wage earners, and the 56 lakh women involved in dairy cooperatives whose collective turnover is expected to surpass INR 1 lakh crore.”
Shah also announced a new initiative—the Kutch District Salt Cooperative Society—which he said would empower salt workers on the lines of the Amul model.
Calling for greater technology adoption, member-first governance, and transparency, Shah cautioned, “Where there is no transparency or tech, cooperation cannot survive.” He urged cooperatives to reflect these values as India prepares for the International Year of Cooperatives.
Since the Ministry's formation in 2021, over 60 policy reforms have been undertaken, Shah noted, bringing 8.4 lakh cooperative societies—representing 31 crore people—into an integrated framework encompassing dairy, banking, sugar, and digital platforms.
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