National Dairy Development Board (NDDB): Meaning, Initiatives, Functions and more

The Indian Parliament established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as a national institution in 1965. It links dairy farmers and provides them with an alternate source of income-generating opportunities.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is a statutory body that was set up under an act of Parliament. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) founder is Dr Varghese Kurian. He established the board in 1965 to promote financial support for producer-owned and controlled organisations.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) comes under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy. The headquarters of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is in Anand, Gujarat.

 What is the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)?

The Indian Parliament established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as a national institution in 1965. It links dairy farmers and provides them with an alternate source of income-generating opportunities.

 The opportunities allow them to build long-term livelihoods. The most notable achievement of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is “Operation Flood”, which lasted for 26 years and transformed India into the world’s largest milk producer. Operation Flood is also known as Operation White Revolution.

 The Government of India’s initiatives

 In 2012, under the National Dairy Plan (NDP) programme, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) initiated several plans to boost the dairy sector by targetting 40 thousand villages in 14 central milk-producing states. These states are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and many more.

 The main objective of this project was to cover approximately 2.7 million milch animals in the abovementioned milk-producing states. In 2019, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) attempted to broaden its reach and touched significant states. It also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the administration of Ladakh. The primary purpose of promoting dairying and other rural livelihoods in the newly formed Union Territory (UT)

 In 2020, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) launched a new programme, named the Manure Management Initiative (MMI), at Mujkuva Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS) in the Anand district of Gujarat. The location consists of biogas plants, which were installed by dairy farmers outside the residential area for producing gas and making the gas a cooking fuel.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has the following powers and functions:

In the official act of the “National Dairy Development Board (NDDB),” power and functions are mentioned in chapter 4.

  •  Promotion of plans and programmes 

 It is mentioned in the act that it should be the duty and function of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to develop dairy and other agriculture-based industries throughout the nation. The promotion should be so that people should be aware of the programmes’ implementation.

  •  To determine the price

 The main function of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is to recommend to the government the fixing of a minimum and maximum price for the sale and purchase of milk.

  • Export and import channelising agency

 The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) functions as the channelising agency regarding the import and export of milk and the products of milk. Not only milk and its products but also milch animals or bulls, which provide financial value.

  •  Data collection

 Collecting and maintaining the data and statistics regarding the efficient management of the national grid and national milch herd or, in other matters, are related to dairying and milk products.