Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah performed the Bhoomi Pujan for the Amul Bengal Dairy Project in Kolkata. The project is being projected as a major dairy-processing expansion in West Bengal, with emphasis on curd manufacturing, milk processing, cold-chain support, and cooperative marketing.
The announcement is significant for UPSC because it links the cooperative sector with rural livelihoods, food processing, and value addition. It also fits the broader policy framing of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” and “White Revolution 2.0”, both associated with strengthening cooperatives and improving dairy-sector productivity.
What happened now
According to the release, Amul has begun the project at the Howrah Food Park in West Bengal with an investment of about Rs 700 crore. The release says the project will be the world’s largest curd manufacturing plant.
In the first phase, the plant is expected to process 10 lakh litres of milk per day and benefit around 1.20 lakh small milk producers and livestock rearers. The full project is projected to process around 30 lakh litres of milk per day and produce large volumes of packaged milk, UHT milk, ice cream, paneer, ghee, sweets, and flavoured milk.
Background and earlier position
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