White Revolution
Also called: Operation Flood, Dairy production in India · Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"
Meaning
The White Revolution is the name for Operation Flood, a programme to raise India's milk output. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), set up in 1965 at Anand, launched it in 1970 under Verghese Kurien. Villages set up milk cooperatives on the Anand (Amul) model, where farmers own and run the dairy together. A national milk grid carried their milk to city markets. The programme ran in three phases, up to 1996. Today India is the largest milk producer, with about a quarter of world output. Uttar Pradesh is the top state (verify current).
Example
Anand in Gujarat is where the cooperative model began. National Milk Day falls on 26 November, Kurien's birthday. Native breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal are now protected under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (2014).
Don't confuse with
- Green Revolution: this raised foodgrain output through high-yielding seeds. The White Revolution raised milk output through cooperatives.