Dairy  farming  is  a  crucial  component  of  rural economy, which  has the  highest  potential of generating income and employment through augmenting productivity of milch animals. It is an effective instrument of social and economic change.

India is the largest milk producer in the world. In the last three decades, world milk production has increased by more than 59 per cent, from 530 million tonne in 1988 to 843 million tonne in 2018.

India is the world’s largest milk producer, with 22 per cent of global production, followed by the United States of America, China, Pakistan and Brazil. The state of Uttar Pradesh produced the highest amount of milk in India at about 30.5 million metric tonne, followed by Rajasthan in the financial year 2019. The projected milk production by 2021-22 is 254.5 million tonne as per the vision 2022 document. In the case of availability of the dairy products, the per capita milk available pan India is 355 gram per day.

Income growth in India has led to strong increases in dairy consumption and production in the last decades. In recent years, dairy consumption has grown at an average rate of 6–8% per annum and experts expect that demand growth may increase to 8–10% annually in the coming years. With increasing urbanisation, Indian households increasingly rely on markets to buy milk, rather than keeping their own cows or buffaloes.

Milk quality

Demand growth may provide incentives for adulteration. For example, excessive demand growth contributed to milk adulteration and the “milk scandal” in China in the late 2000s. A series of food scandals in India in the early 2000s increased national awareness of food safety and caused debates on safety quality standards for milk.

Anticipation regarding the impending implementation of the legislation – in conjunction with increasing pressure from consumers – may spur the emergence of private food standards in the Indian dairy industry.

Interviews with dairy businesses in Andhra Pradesh revealed that Indian dairy processors decided to pursue different levels of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification as a ‘competitive’ strategy, in an attempt to convince consumers that their milk is of high quality.

Crossbred cows and graded buffaloes

The traditional DA in India is local (desi) cows and buffaloes with low milk yields. For cows, cross breeding has been the main method to increase animal productivity. Crossbred cows are the result of inseminating local desi cows with a foreign cow breed (exotic) – usually the Holstein-Friesian (H.F.) and Jersey breeds. With proper feeding, they yield considerably more milk than local desi cows.

For buffaloes, local types can be “graded up” with better breeds, usually of the Murrah type, which originate from Haryana and Punjab.
While Murrah type buffaloes are not a technology adoption in Punjab, given that this breed is native to this state, they are in AP where graded buffaloes produce more milk than local buffaloes.

New launches during lockdown  

The health benefits of milk are widely recognised as an attractive source of natural proteins and many other dairy items are functional foods and beverages including its contribution to digestive wellness and the high in proteins. Due to lockdown there has been an increase in protein-based diets which includes dairy items – paneer, milk, cheese, raita and immunity boosters.

Spiced Milk

Golden milk and golden milk mix were launched by Milma with the support of Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode. The Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF) or Milma has introduced two new products.

Haldi Ice cream

Amul has introduced ‘Haldi ice cream’ sold in tamper-proof 125 ml cups. Haldi ice cream also has super ingredients like honey, pepper and dry fruits such as dates, almonds and cashews.  

Tulsi and Ginger Milk

Amul launches ‘Tulsi’ and ‘Ginger’ milk to boost immunity amid coronavirus. The milk brand is launching ‘Ginger’ and ‘Tulsi’ variants in order to boost the community amid Covid-19. As the coronavirus vaccine is still to come, their new milk variants will ensure people have enough immunity till then to fight the deadly virus.

Traditional Sweets from Milk

Mother Dairy has launched 5 types of sweets available in close vicinity of Delhi – including famed milk cake and orange mawa barfi, the demand has increased with the introduction of frozen rasmalai during the lockdown period. In addition to the already existing sweets on public demand, the company has relaunched hygienically packed gulab jamun and rasgullas for the consumers.

Turmeric Latte

A popular leading milk maker and supplier in the Delhi-NCR, Mother Dairy, recently launched butterscotch flavoured haldi milk (turmeric latte) that will boost immunity of consumers to fight the current crisis engulfing the nation.
“Made with concentrated turmeric extract, each bottle delivers the same benefit as taking one teaspoon of haldi powder in milk,” narrated data from Mother Dairy.

Packaged Lassi by ITC

ITC’s Dairy & Beverages Div has launched lassi under Aashirvaad Svasti brand. As launching lassi as this dairy-based traditional drink can help beat the soaring heat and quench the thirst.

Pride of Cows Curd – Premium category

Parag Milk Foods -Pride of Cows Curd is made from pure Pride of Cows milk and is derived from the company’s own farm. The curd will be delivered to the consumer’s doorstep through a completely contact-free process that involves a full automated milking and production system and a cold chain network that maintains a constant temperature throughout in order to retain the curd’s flavour and aroma.

Patanjali launches dairy products

Patanjali  announced its entry into dairy products like cow milk, curd, buttermilk and cheese, and said it will soon start selling its dairy products in tetra packs and will launch flavoured milk too

Hisar Dist of Haryana plans First Donkey Milk Dairy

It’s common to hear people drinking Cow, Buffalo and Goat’s milk. Even Yak milk is consumed in mountainous regions. But, Donkey’s milk is something new. To everyone’s surprise, the first ever donkey’s milk dairy in India will be opened in the northern state of Haryana.

Various innovations have helped consumers to fulfil their needs, some consumers are shifting towards nutritious food, which will boost their immune system .The implementation of various dairy development technologies /programmes-better feed, new adoption technologies, better hygiene standards by Government of India has changed the scenario tremendously and helped the dairy farmers to obtain higher profits.
Sustainability of dairy however largely depends on new technologies, innovations and the best benefits towards healthy side that are developed by various organisations from time to time.

Source L FNB news : Report by Norina Fernandes (The author is senior quality assurance executive (F&B) at Café Coffee Day Global, Mumbai. She can be contacted at norinafernz1004@gmail.com)