Amit Shah Unveils Plan to Boost Dairy Farmers' Income by 20% in 5 Years Through Circular Economy

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced a plan to increase dairy farmers' income by at least 20% in the next five years through a circular economy model. The Centre plans to replicate the cooperative model pioneered in Banaskantha, Gujarat, which has grown into a ₹24,000-crore enterprise built by women and farmers of the district. The system of weekly payments directly into bank accounts has given women a central role in the growth of the dairy sector. Under the circular economy model, farmers will receive their share of the income generated by the dairy through the sale of biogas and fertilizer produced from cattle dung procured from them. Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, said that a concrete plan for the implementation of this circular economy model across the country will emerge from a meeting of MPs in Banaskantha. He added that around 250 chairmen and managing directors of dairies from across India will visit Banaskantha in January to study the cooperative model. The Centre has formed three national-level cooperatives for seeds, organic products, and agricultural exports, along with three new multi-state cooperatives for the dairy sector. These institutions will cover activities ranging from cheese, protein, and dairy whitener to honey, edible oil packaging, cold storage, potato processing, seed production, and animal feed, with profits reaching livestock farmers. Shah said that the cooperative model nurtured in Banaskantha will spread across India and strengthen the incomes of millions of livestock farmers. He also mentioned that the White Revolution 2.0 will be driven by the National Gokul Mission, the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, the restructured National Dairy Plan, and the National Animal Disease Control Programme.