Important Facts About the White Revolution

The White Revolution was started by the Indian Government to increase the sales of dairy products, and their consumption. It started in the year 1970. This was a movement to help farmers engaged in dairy production. This revolution was called the white revolution or operation flood because of the white colour associated with dairy products such as milk, curd, paneer, etc. The Government of India planned to help people in dairy production, in rural or backward areas, by providing them with financial support, by developing a cooperative system between the government and its dealers. This in turn provided employment to the weaker and poorer sections of society. 

Importance of the White Revolution

The White Revolution has played an important role in providing employment to the people of India’s rural and backward areas. Through the revolution, housewives were given an opportunity to start their own businesses by milking cows to earn money. Since every household in rural areas has cows and goats, it was a fairly convenient option for them. The workers would typically come and collect articles from each household. There was a mechanism set up to drop fresh dairy products at every household. This improved the standard of living of people in the rural areas. There were certain cooperatives that were set up to reach the goal of operating floods. So the white revolution helped immensely for the same. 

Father of the White Revolution

Dr. Verghese Kurien is considered to be the father of the White Revolution or Operation Flood in India. He is also known to have played a very important hand in making Amul what it is today. He was born on November 26th, 1921. He has contributed towards revolutionising the sale of dairy products and improving the condition of people in underdeveloped sections of India. 

Objectives of the White Revolution

The main objective to start and motivate the white revolution was to increase the production of dairy products in India. Another reason to start the white revolution was to improve the financial conditions of the people belonging to the backward and rural areas of India. Owing to a single mechanism dealing with the distribution of dairy products, the consumers were able to access a standardised price of the dairy products across the country. Prior to the White Revolution, individual sellers had the freedom to keep the prices of the dairy products as they desired, however this led to irrational price adjustment. 

Working Mechanism of the White Revolution

The White Revolution created a mechanism that linked India’s milk producers. Dairy farmers in the rural and backward areas would milk their cattle and keep the milk in a tank. Distributors would then go and collect milk and milk products from the individual dairy farmers’ families, pack and preserve them to avoid wastage. Finally, the products would be taken to large warehouses or factories. From here, these products were either distributed to the retailers or directly distributed to consumers. 

The milk that was sent to the factories would be treated with preservatives. It would also be used to create other products like curd and paneer. This connection connected nearly 700 towns and cities. The milk collectors who used to collect the milk from the houses in the rural areas were called the village milk producer cooperatives. The cooperatives would provide services and make modern technology and management available to their members. The prices of the products were maintained at a constant rate throughout the year irrespective of the seasons and regions, unlike how it was prior to the White Revolution. This mechanism led to cutting down on the middle men, and helped dairy producers to gain greater profits.

Phases of the White Revolution

The first phase of the White Revolution was from 1970 to 1980. The objective to start this phase was to set up the dairy cooperatives in nearly 18 milk sheds in 10 states. These sheds were to be linked with four different metropolitan markets. Towards the end of this phase, there were 13000 villages that had dairy cooperatives covering 15000 farmers. These dairies were set up in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Phase two of the White Revolution lasted from 1980-1985. During this phase, the milk sheds increased from 18 to 136. 

By the end of 1985, 43000 village cooperatives and 4250000 milk producers were covered. Domestic milk powder production increased from 22000 tons to 140000 tons by 1989. In 1985, the White Revolution entered its third phase. The infrastructure was extended and fortified during this era. Veterinary first aid, health-care services, and animal nutrition have all improved. Animal health research, such as theileriosis vaccines, and animal nutrition research, such as protein-rich diets, received a lot of attention.

Conclusion

The White Revolution was started by the Indian Government in order to increase the sales of dairy products and their consumption. It started in the year 1970. Dr. Verghese Kurien is known to be the father of the White Revolution in India. He is also known to have played an important hand in making Amul what it is today. It had three phases. The main objective to kickstart the white revolution was to increase dairy production in India, and improve the financial conditions of people living in rural areas.