Wed Mar 19 16:14:14 UTC 2025: **Cabinet Approves ₹1,000 Crore Boost for National Dairy Development Programme**

New Delhi, March 19, 2025 – The Union Cabinet today approved an additional ₹1,000 crore for the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), increasing its total budget to ₹2,790 crore from 2021-22 to 2025-26. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the allocation, stating the funds will modernize and expand dairy infrastructure to bolster growth and productivity within the sector.

The enhanced NPDD will focus on improving milk procurement and processing capabilities, alongside stricter quality control. The government aims to improve farmer access to markets, enhance pricing through value addition, and streamline the supply chain to increase farmer incomes and stimulate rural development.

The program has two main components: upgrading essential dairy infrastructure (including chilling plants, testing labs, and certification systems) and the “Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC)” initiative. DTC, developed in partnership with the Japanese government and JICA, will concentrate on sustainable dairy cooperative development across nine states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The government highlighted the NPDD’s success to date, claiming it has benefited over 18.74 lakh farmers, created over 30,000 jobs, and increased daily milk procurement capacity by 100.95 lakh liters. The program has also promoted advanced milk testing and quality control technologies.

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