Dairy & Milk

India went from a milk-deficient country in the 1960s to the world's largest producer, thanks to the cooperative model pioneered by Amul and the NDDB's Operation Flood. That legacy kept growing: milk production rose from about 146 million tonnes in 2014-15 to roughly 248 million tonnes in 2024-25, around a two-thirds increase, and India now accounts for close to a quarter of the world's milk.

Dairy's power is its reach: it is built on tens of millions of small and landless farmers, each with a few animals, pooling milk through village cooperatives that pay them regularly. A large share of dairy farmers are women, making it one of India's most important tools for rural women's incomes. Per-capita milk availability rose from 319 grams a day in 2014-15 to 485 grams a day in 2024-25.

India's dairy runs on a cooperative model pioneered by Amul and the White Revolution: millions of small farmers, often with just a cow or two, pool their milk through village societies that collect, chill, process and sell it — cutting out middlemen and paying farmers directly. This 'Anand pattern' turned India from a milk-short nation into the world's largest producer, and dairy is now a bigger earner for many rural households than crops.

India produces about 248 million tonnes of milk a year — roughly a quarter of the world's total, the largest of any country. The next step is capturing more value: today only around a fifth of milk is organised and processed, so the push is toward more processing, better breeds and yield per animal (aided by the Rashtriya Gokul Mission), and stronger cold chains — while managing rising feed costs and heat stress on herds.

~146 → ~248 MT milk (2014-15→2024-25). World's largest producer, ~24% of global output. Per-capita 319 → 485 g/day (2014-15 → 2024-25). ~20% processed by organised sector. Sources: DAHD, NDDB.