Dairy Industry in India : Development and Challenge Assessment

Dairy plays an important role in many aspects of Indian society including food, religion, culture and economy. India has the largest dairy herd in the world with over 300 million cows. India ranks first in the world both in production and consumption of milk. Most of the milk produced is consumed domestically. Operation Flood transformed the Indian dairy industry into one of the largest in the world in the mid to late 20th century. Earlier milk production in India was mainly done at household level. Today we can see that the dairy industry in India has a great impact on the economic development. Most of the milk in the country comes from buffalo, followed by cow's milk and goat's milk. Through the relevant study, the dairy industry in India and its progress and the challenges ahead will be studied. Government efforts will be reviewed mainly through this medium.