India on way to digitize end-to-end activities of livestock sector: PM Modi

New Delhi, Sept 12 (KNN) Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated IDF World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS) 2022 at Greater Noida, today.

Speaking at the occasion, Modi said that India's dairy sector is characterized by "production by masses" more than "mass production". India is the largest milk-producing country on the basis of the efforts of these small farmers with one, two or three cattle.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that India is working on a digital system which will capture the end-to-end activities of the livestock sector.

Stressing on the unique characteristic of the Indian dairy system, the Prime Minister restated that there is such a huge network of Dairy Cooperative in India, and one cannot find such an example in the whole world elsewhere.

While highlighting the power of women in the dairy sector, Modi pointed out that women have a 70 per cent representation in the workforce in India's dairy sector. More than a third of the members of dairy cooperatives in India are women.

Valued at eight and a half lakh crore rupees, the dairy sector is more than the combined value of wheat and rice. This is all driven by the women power of India. This sector provides employment to more than 8 crore families in the country.

India produced 146 million tonnes of milk in 2014. It has now increased to 210 million tonnes. That is, an increase of about 44 per cent. The country’s milk production is increasing at 6 per cent annual rate against 2 per cent global growth.

While highlighting the the use of modern technology, the Prime Minister said that India is building the largest database of dairy animals and every animal associated with the dairy sector is being tagged. “We are doing biometric identification of animals. We have named it - Pashu Adhar”, he said.

Modi also stressed on the growing entrepreneurial structures like FPAs and women self-help groups, and startups. He said that the sector has seen more than 1000 startups in recent times.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, L Murugan, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Members of Parliament Surendra Singh Nagar and Mahesh Sharma, President of International Dairy Federation, P Brazzale, and Director General of International Dairy Federation  (KNN Bureau)