Before we gained our independence, milk farmers were frequently exploited. At that time, the large corporation Polson used to purchase milk from them for a low price in Gujarat and then sell it for a high price. The farmers had had enough of it and approached Tribhuvandas Patel, a prominent local figure. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Tribhuvandas met and discussed the issue. Morarji Desai was dispatched to Gujarat to address the issue. Following this, the Kheda District Cooperative Society was established in Anand, close to Ahmedabad, in 1946. Thus the foundation of the biggest dairy firm in India was laid, as Kheda District Cooperative Society later became Amul.
The residents of the Kheda district village began gathering milk and delivering it to the cooperative society. The milk used to solely come from two villages after inception. However, there were 432 of these villages by 1948. Tribhuvandas Patel’s work in 1949 allowed Dr Verghese Kurien to enter this field and launch the White Revolution. The cooperative society was looking for a simple name, therefore some individuals proposed Amulya, which is another name for Anmol. The full form of Amul is Anand Milk Union Limited. It is a cooperative society under the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, Government of Gujarat.
Only 247 litres of milk were collected daily when this cooperative society was founded with just two communities. When there were 432 communities by 1948, the amount of milk had climbed to 5000 litres. After nearly 77 years, Amul now collects 2.63 billion litres of milk daily. There are 36.4 lakh farmers selling milk in the 18600 villages included. Amul’s daily revenue is around Rs 150 crore. Even though Amul was moving quickly, Polson was giving it a tough fight. The public enjoyed Polson’s butter a lot. The business formerly employed a European process to manufacture its butter. Amul eventually began manufacturing butter with salt as well. Amul Girl was created as a result to market the butter better. Significantly, Polson’s packet also featured a young girl. It was created by Sylvester de Cunha for Amul. Amul’s utterly Butterly Delicious commercial was so successful that it earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Source : News18 April 25th 2023