The Indian Economy is mostly based on agriculture and animal husbandry, but milk production also plays a major role. India ranks first in milk production, i.e. 18.5 % of the world production. It is followed by U.S.A, China, Pakistan, and Brazil. India is also the largest Buffalo milk producer in the world. The production has increased considerably i.e from 17 million tonnes in the year 1950 to 108.5 million tonnes in 2008.
The success story is the hard work of small milk producers. But we cannot deny the "Operation Flood Programme" launched by DR VERGHESE KURIEN in 1970 which played a major role in bringing the White Revolution. AMUL DIARY became one of the best and trusted brands in India. It became the household name .
The increase in the income, changes in the lifestyle and food habits, urbanization, etc are mainly the factors responsible for making the Indian Dairy Industry reach here today. There is a considerable change in the consumption of milk and dairy products. The use of Tetra packs, Flavoured Milks, Cheese, Paneer, Curd, Butter, and Ice-cream, etc have increased drastically.
The first glass bottle packing was done in the year 1870. In 1863, Louis Pasture invented Pasteurization, a way of killing the harmful bacteria. Earlier Pasteurization was used to prevent Wine and Beer from souring. Pasteurization of milk is done by heating the milk and then cooling it, this kills the harmful microorganisms present in the milk. Ultra Pasteurization and Microfiltration methods have today gained importance because it lasts for a longer time. Nowadays, a variety of Pasteurized milk like Full Cream, Reduced Fat, Skimmed Milk, Calcium Enriched and Flavoured Milk are available in the market. Diaries today have to compulsory print the expiry date on the milk packets or containers.
Some studies have shown that consumption of milk and its products increase certain health issues. The Certain study claimed that Men who consumed more of milk and its products could get Parkinson's Diseases, but the reason was not at all clear.The recent study by 'The World Cancer Research Fund' showed a higher risk of prostate cancer for those who took more of milk and its products. But again there is a lack of clear evidence to prove it.
Whatever said and criticized, Milk still remains the favorite drink of all. The Flavored-Chocolate and Strawberry Milk are loved worldwide. The importance of milk to humans and its culture is beyond ages. Milk is considered as the major source of protein and nutrition. The source of milk is various cattle like Cows, Buffaloes, Goats, Sheep and to some extent Camel.
Certain Facts About Indian Milk Industry--
- Around 80 % of the milk which is produced in India is from the unorganized sector, and the rest 20 % comes from Private Diaries and the Cooperatives.
- There are about 1.33 lakhs Village level Diary Cooperative sources, in 235 districts of the country which collects about 25.1 million liters of milk every day.
- Diary Industry has become a vital secondary source of income of millions of rural household.
- Many factors such as an integrated cooperative system of milk collection, transportation, processing, distribution, conversion to milk products have led to the diary industry reach this position.
- here are around 37 cattle breeds found in India but among these Sahiwal, Gir, Red Sindhi, Tharpakar, and Rathi are well known for milking attributes.
- Dr.Kurien, Father of White Revolution is called as the MILKMAN OF INDIA.
Among all the states that contributed to India, the top ten are--TamilNadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujrat, UttarPradesh, and Bihar.
There are around 264 million dairy cows worldwide, which produces 600 million tonnes of milk every year. The average being 2,200 liters per cow.
As India has finally reached the top position in milk production, let's look into which other countries follow India -
U.S.A--- It is the second largest producer with 93.5 million tonnes of milk. Around 23 states in US deals with milk production and almost all milk in U.S.A comes from Cows and it is also considered as the largest producer of Cows milk in the world.
CHINA--- China stands at the third place, which produces around 45 million tonnes of milk. China is also the largest importer of milk and milk products.
PAKISTAN-- It holds the 4th place with 42 million tonnes of milk in a year. Buffalo is the main source of milk in Pakistan.
BRAZIL- It produces 35.7 million tonnes of milk. Minas Girasis is the main milk producing state.
GERMANY- It produces 29.34 million tonnes of milk. It recently overtook Russia to stand in 6th place.
RUSSIA--- Russia is declining in milk production and it produced just 28 million tonnes in 2015.
FRANCE---- In 2015, the total milk production of France was 23.2 million tonnes. It also showed a decrease of 10% in its milk production.
NEWZEALAND--- This tiny country produced 21.53 million tonnes of milk in 2015. It is a large exporter of milk and its products to some countries like China.
TURKEY--- The production was about 19 million tonnes in 2015. Turkey stands at the 10th place in the world for its milk production.