September 16, 2008

The Indian Union Government is planning to launch a national dairy plan with an investment of over  Rs. 17,000 crore (US$3.7 billion ) in hopes to increase the country's milk production by up to 80 percent.

The government is  working on a comprehensive plan to increase milk production to reach a level of about 160 to 180 million tonnes by 2021, said Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at a national conference of state ministers of animal husbandry and dairy development.

This means the country would be expected to increase milk production by 58 percent  by then; the country is estimated to have produced about 102 million tonnes of milk in 2007/08.

Pawar added that some responsibility will be taken by the centre since the World Bank would not be financing 100 percent of the project. The proposed investment will spread over 5 to 6 years.

The plan envisages bringing 65 percent of marketable surplus of milk produced under the organized sector compared with the present 30 percent.