India produces milk worth Rs 8.5 lakh crore annually: PM Modi

New Delhi, Apr 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, inaugurated Banas Diary's new complex and potato processing plant at Diyodar in Banaskantha district on Tuesday.

Speaking at the occasion, PM Modi said that the development initiatives at Banas Dairy will empower farmers and boost the rural economy. "We can experience here how cooperative movement can give strength to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign," he stated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India produces milk worth Rs 8.5 lakh crore annually, more than the turnover of wheat and rice, with small farmers being the biggest beneficiaries of the dairy sector.

"Today, India is the world's largest producer of milk. When the livelihood of crores of farmers depend on milk, India produces milk worth Rs 8.5 lakh crore annually, something that many people, including big economists, do not pay attention to," the prime minister said while addressing a gathering at Diyodar in the Banaskantha district after inaugurating a new dairy complex and a potato processing plant of the Banas Dairy.

"Decentralised economy system of villages is an example of this. As against this, even the turnover of wheat and rice is not equal to Rs 8.5 lakh crore. And small farmers are the biggest beneficiaries of the dairy sector," he said.

The new dairy complex and the potato processing plant of Banas Dairy are aimed at empowering local farmers and giving a boost to the rural economy in the region. The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the Banas Community Radio Station and the expanded facilities for the production of cheese products and whey powder at Palanpur, and organic manure and biogas plant established at Dama.

He will also lay the foundation stone of WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar.
On this occasion, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Director-General of World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus will also be present.

GCTM will be the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world. It will emerge as an international hub of global wellness.