NDDB celebrates birth centenary of Dr. Verghese Kurien

Union Minister of Animal Husbandry & Dairying Parshottam Rupala conferred the Gopal Ratna Award to the winners of the Best Dairy Farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds on Friday during the celebration of “National Milk Day” to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr Verghese Kurien.

Rupala said that Gopal Ratna Award will set benchmarks and help adopt best practices and innovation adding that Dr Kurien was a firm believer of vocal for local ideology. “The cooperative model of Amul has instilled a sense of confidence and self-belief among the farmers,” Rupala added. He further appreciated National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for organising National Milk Day at Anand to commemorate Dr Kurien’s birth centenary.

Union Ministers of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Dr L Murugan also attended the event. Dr Balyan said a proud nation remembers Dr Kurien - as we all know how the milk cooperatives have played a vital role in the progress of the dairy industry. Dr Kurien was an institution himself. He stressed a lot on innovation and the legacy is being carried to new heights by NDDB.


Rupala inaugurated IVF Lab at Dhamrod, Gujarat and Hessergatta, Karnataka and Start-up Grand Challenge 2.0. He flagged off Milkobikes (jointly developed by NDDB and IDMC Ltd) - motorcycles with milking machines for encouraging self-employment. He also launched NDDB-developed web portal for breed multiplication scheme and urban kit organic manure on the occasion. The Hon’ble Union Minister also released a book authored by Ms Nirmala Kurien, daughter of Dr Verghese Kurien, on his life.