Hon’ble Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying presents Gopal Ratna Award on National Milk Day at NDDB, Anand

Birth Centenary Celebration of Dr Verghese Kurien

Hon’ble Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying presents Gopal Ratna Award on National Milk Day at NDDB, Anand

Anand, November 26, 2021: The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt of India, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and other institutions - GCMMF Ltd, Kaira Milk Union (Amul Dairy), NCDFI Ltd, IRMA, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd, IDMC Ltd, Indian Immunologicals Ltd, NDDB Dairy Services and Anandalaya jointly celebrated (NDDB) “National Milk Day” to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr Verghese Kurien on 26 November 2021 at NDDB’s TK Patel Auditorium.

During the ceremony, Shri Parshottam Rupala, Hon’ble Union Minister of Animal Husbandry & Dairying conferred the Gopal Ratna Award 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. Besides felicitation of the winners, Shri Rupala inaugurated IVF Lab at Dhamrod, Gujarat and Hessergatta, Karnataka and Start-up Grand Challenge 2.0. He flagged off Milkobikes (jointly developed by NDDB and IDMC Ltd) - motorcycles with milking machines for encouraging self-employment. He also launched NDDB-developed web portal for breed multiplication scheme and urban kit organic manure on the occasion. The Hon’ble Union Minister also released a book authored by Ms Nirmala Kurien, daughter of Dr Verghese Kurien, on his life. A remake of the iconic TVC of 1990s - Doodh Doodh Piyo Glass Full and a tribute film on Dr Kurien were also showcased during the ceremony.

Hon’ble Union Ministers of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Dr L Murugan, Shri Mitesh Patel, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (Loksabha), Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Dept of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Shri Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB, Ms Varsha Joshi, Joint Secretary, DAHD, Govt of India, Dr RS Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF and Ms Nirmala Kurien also graced the occasion.

Shri Rupala said that Gopal Ratna Award will set benchmarks and help adopt best practices and innovation. He said Dr Kurien was a firm believer of vocal for local ideology. The cooperative model of Amul has instilled a sense of confidence and self-belief among the farmers. He appreciated NDDB for organising National Milk Day at Anand to commemorate Dr Kurien’s birth centenary.

Dr Balyan said a proud nation remembers Dr Kurien - as we all know how the milk cooperatives have played a vital role in the progress of the dairy industry. Dr Kurien was an institution himself. He stressed a lot on innovation and the legacy is being carried to new heights by NDDB.

Dr Murugan said that Dr Kurien was a visionary and thanked him for uplifting farmers of the country and providing nutrition to millions of children.

Shri Chaturvedi said that Dr Kurien’s extraordinary leadership qualities and commitment changed the lives of millions of milk producers. He further said that the beauty of dairy cooperatives is that they return 70-80 % of the consumer rupee back to the dairy farmers. He reiterated Hon’ble PM’s call for Sabka Saaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Praayas.

Chairman, NDDB said that Dr Kurien had been a great institution builder and we are celebrating the achievements of this great visionary, who gave dairy farmers control over their resources they create. He said that NDDB is continuously looking for innovative and commercially viable solutions to solve the problem of the dairy industry.

Ms Varsha Joshi said Dr Kurien always believed that cooperation is the preferred form of enterprise. Today we are proudly following his footsteps.

Dr RS Sodhi said that what Dr Kurien taught and preached years back is becoming more and more relevant today. Amul was the product of his vocal for local approach. His commitment for the value system has inspired all. 

Earlier, the celebration of 100^th birth anniversary of Dr Kurien started with a Walkathon – KadamForKurien – with the idea of reaching 200 million footsteps to honour the founder Chairman of NDDB. During the Walkathon, people walked from Amul Dairy up to NDDB campus via GCMMF, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Anandalaya School & NCDFI. The footsteps of people from all walks of life were recorded through KadamForKurien app. The Walkathon culminated with the formation of a human portrait of Dr Kurien.

The Hon’ble Union Minister presented awards to winners of poetry, essay, poster, quiz competitions organised by NDDB in memory of Dr Kurien. Winner and runner-up of Dr Kurien Centenary Cricket Tournament organised by GCMMF Ltd also received awards from Shri Rupala.

Shri Arun Maira, Chairman HelpAge International delivered the Dr Kurien Memorial Lecture organised by IRMA. A special talk by Shri Satish Marathe, Board Member, RBI & Shri Vijay Kumar T, Executive Vice Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sadhikara Samstha was also organised.