Utility: Direct question can be asked on this topic. It can be quoted in answers related to Agriculture and Allied Activities.
Operation Flood (White Revolution)
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The White Revolution in India was the brainchild of Dr Verghese Kurein. Under him many important institutions were established like the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
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The White Revolution was started by the NDDB in the 1970s and the bedrock of the revolution has been the village milk producers’ cooperatives.
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Phases of the Revolution:
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Phase I: It started from 1970 and lasted for 10 years i.e. till 1980. This phase was financed by the sale of butter oil and skimmed milk powder donated by the European Union through the World Food Program.
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Phase II: It lasted for five years from 1981 to 1985. During this phase, the number of milk sheds increased from 18 to 136, milk outlets were expanded to about 290 urban markets, a self-sustaining system was set up that included 4,250,000 milk producers spread across 43,000 village cooperatives.
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Phase III: It also lasted for almost 10 years i.e. 1985-1996. This phase enabled the dairy cooperatives to expand and gave a finishing touch to the programme. It also strengthened the infrastructure required to procure and market increasing volumes of milk.
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Objectives:
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Increase milk production (“a flood of milk”).
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Increase rural incomes.
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Reasonable prices for consumers.
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Significance:
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It helped dairy farmers direct their own development, placing control of the resources they create in their own hands.
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It has helped India become the largest producer of milk in the world in 2016-17.
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Currently, India is the world’s largest milk producer, with 22% of global production.
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