National Milk Day 2021 – November 26 

National Milk Day is annually observed across India on 26th November to mark the birth anniversary of Dr Verghese Kurien, India’s ‘Father of White Revolution’.

The day also aims to create awareness about the importance of milk and dairy products as a global food.

• The day is annually organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

The National Milk Day 2021 marks the 100th Birth anniversary of Verghese Kurien, who was also fondly known as the Milk Man of India. 

Background:

i.The National Milk day was initiated by the Indian Dairy Association(IDA) along with 22 state-level milk federations and Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation(GCMMF) – AMUL.

ii.The National Milk Day was first observed on 26th November 2014.

About Verghese Kurien:

i.Verghese Kurien was the architect of ‘Operation Flood’, the ‘billion litres’ idea which made India the world’s largest milk producer in 1998, surpassing the United States(US).

ii.He was the founder and chairman of Amul and he has also served as the  Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

iii.He has also played a major role in the “Amul girl” ad campaign, one of India’s longest-running ad campaigns.

Awards:

i.Ramon Magsaysay Award(1963)

ii.Carnegie Foundation’s Wateler Peace Prize(1986)

iiiWorld Food Prize Foundation’s World Food Prize(1989)

iv.The Indian Government honoured him with Padma Shri(1965) and Padma Bhushan(1966) for trade and industry and Padma Vibhushan(1999) for Science and Engineering.

World Milk Day 2021 – June 1:

World Milk Day is annually observed across the globe on June 1  by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations(UN).

Events of National Milk Day 2021:

i.As a part of the National Milk Day, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying along with the National Dairy Development Board and other institutions created by Dr Kurien has organised an event at the T K Patel Auditorium, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Campus, NDDB, Anand, Gujarat.

ii.Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr L.Murugan and Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Ministers of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(MFAHD)have participated in the event.

Highlights:

i.Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying felicitated the winner of the inaugural National Gopal Ratna Awards 2021.

ii.He has also inaugurated the IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) Lab at Dhamrod, Gujarat and Hessergatta, Karnataka.

ii.He also launched the Start-up Grand Challenge 2.0.

National Gopal Ratna Awards 2021:

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying presented the first-ever National Gopal Ratna Awards 2021 to the winners of the Best Dairy Farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds, Best Artificial Insemination Technician and Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/ Milk Producer Company/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organisation in the country.

• The award consists of a Certificate of merit, a memento and a cash award of Rs 5 lakh for the 1st rank, Rs 3 lakh for the 2nd rank and Rs 2 lakh for the 3rd rank under each category.

Winners of National Gopal Ratna Awards 2021:

About  National Gopal Ratna Awards:

The  National Gopal Ratna Awards is the highest national award in the field of livestock and dairying conferred by the Government of India.

• The award was launched by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying on 1st June 2021, World Milk Day 2021.

Objective:

To encourage all individuals and Dairy cooperative societies / Milk Producer Company / Dairy farmers Producers Organizations working in this sector

About National Dairy Development Board (NDDB):

Chairman– Meenesh C Shah

Headquarters– Anand, Gujarat