Verghese Kurien

Dr. Verghese Kurien, India's Father of the White Revolution, died at the age of 90 in Nadiad, Gujarat, after a brief illness. India was transformed from a milk-deficient to a self-sufficient milk-producing country largely due to his efforts and initiatives.

 

He was a social entrepreneur who oversaw Operation Flood, the largest agricultural dairy production programme in the world.

It transformed India into the world's largest milk producer from a milk-deficient nation, doubling milk availability per person and quadrupling milk production in 30 years.

Kurien was instrumental in the founding of Amul, which split the local trade cartel 65 years ago, paving the way for Gujarat's dairy cooperative sector to prosper. From 1973 to 2006, he worked for the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

In 2014, the Indian Dairy Association and all of the country's dairy giants decided to mark Dr. Verghese Kurien's birthday, November 26, as National Milk Day.

 

On the 13th of May 1949, a young engineer who had recently completed his Master's degree in Dairy Engineering arrived in Anand to serve the bond time against his government-funded education. Mr. Verghese Kurien was his name, and he would later be recognised around the world as Dr. Verghese Kurien. Mr. Tribhuvandas Patel, the founder of KDCMPUL (Kaira District Co-Operative Milk Producers' Union Limited), convinced him to remain at Amul after completing his required time. In the Kheda district, he and Mr. Patel began forming co-operatives. Co-operatives were responsible for collecting milk from farmers and paying the farmers the required amount depending on the quality of the milk. Mr. Kurien, on the other hand, wanted to give KDCMPUL a unique name that everyone could pronounce and that would aid in the union's growth. Various workers and farmers were asked for suggestions for a suitable name. Soon after, a quality management supervisor suggested the name "Amulya," which is derived from a Sanskrit term that means "unrivalled perfection." The name was changed to "Amul" to include the union in the name, and thus the brand AMUL- Anand Milk Union Limited formed.

 

Prime Minister Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri, was invited to Anand in 1964 to inaugurate Amul's new cattle-feed factory. He was expected to leave by the end of the day, but when he arrived in Anand, he insisted on staying to learn about the co-operatives' success. He and Dr. Kurien visited almost all of the co-operatives, and he was impressed by Amul's method for obtaining milk from farmers while also assisting them in improving their economic situation. He later returned to Delhi and requested that Dr. Kurien replicate the Amul pattern throughout the country. 

 

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was established in 1965 as a result of their combined efforts. Dr. Kurien assumed command of NDDB and set about the herculean task of replicating Anand's overall working pattern in other parts of the world. The demand for milk was increasing faster than the supply at this stage. Money was the most pressing issue for NDDB at the time, and it was a vital resource for revolutionising the milk industry. 

 

To deal with it, the NDDB attempted to obtain loans and other grants from the World Bank with no strings attached. “Give me money and forget about it,” Dr. Kurien told the President of the World Bank when he visited India in 1969. The World Bank approved the loan for NDDB a few days later, with no conditions attached. This assistance was given as part of an operation – later called Operation Flood – to replicate the Anand working pattern throughout India. 

 

In India, Operation Flood was initiated in three stages, resulting in the addition of approximately 0.1 million co-operatives and 5 million milk producers. Dr. Kurien also took a variety of other initiatives, including the development of milk powder, the development of many varieties of dairy products, a focus on cattle health, and the development of vaccines, among others. He also founded GCMMF (Gujarat co-operative milk marketing federation) in 1973, which is an individual marketing unit of Amul that sells the Amul brand in India and abroad. In 1979, he founded IRMA – Institute of Rural Management Anand, with the aim of passing on his knowledge to future generations and placing rural India on the map.

 

As a result of these combined efforts, Amul now has 15 million milk farmers pouring their milk into 1,44,246 dairy co-operative societies across the country, forming a massive chain that has made us the world's largest milk producer.

 

This is the storey of a young engineer who was born in Calicut and later became the "Father of the White Revolution," receiving prestigious government awards such as the Padma Vibhushan, Ramon Magsaysay, and Krushi Ratna, among others. He passed away on September 9, 2012, but he will be remembered for his enormous contribution to farmers, the Amul Brand, and the millions of dairy product consumers.