White Revolution 2.0: 50% Higher Milk Procurement, Women-Led Cooperatives and Rural Jobs
White Revolution 2.0 is a cooperative-led national strategy launched by the Ministry of Cooperation to modernise India’s dairy ecosystem and raise milk procurement by dairy cooperatives by 50% over five years (2024–25 to 2028–29). Building on the legacy of Operation Flood, it focuses on expanding dairy cooperatives into uncovered villages, improving milk collection infrastructure, and strengthening women’s participation in the organised dairy economy.
What is White Revolution 2.0?
The initiative was launched on 19 September 2024, alongside a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementation and a broader push to expand primary cooperatives nationwide. Its central idea is simple: bring more milk-producing households into the organised cooperative network, so farmers get assured market access, transparent testing, and timely payments—while cooperatives get larger, steadier procurement volumes.
It is designed as a “next phase” of India’s dairy story—moving from a production-led revolution to a procurement + infrastructure + technology upgrade that improves efficiency at the village level.
Primary target: 50% increase in milk procurement
The government’s procurement target is to increase daily milk procurement by dairy cooperatives from 660 lakh kg (2023–24) to 1,007 lakh kg by 2028–29. This is planned through a two-pronged strategy: expanding coverage into uncovered areas and deepening the reach of existing cooperatives with better infrastructure and routes.
Key expansion numbers highlighted in official and institutional summaries include:
- Setting up about 75,000 new dairy cooperative societies (village-level units) in uncovered panchayats/villages over 2024–25 to 2028–29.
- Strengthening about 46,000 existing village-level dairy cooperative societies/PACS with improved milk procurement and testing infrastructure.
- A broader national plan to create new cooperatives in uncovered gram panchayats also includes targets such as 56,500 new multipurpose dairy cooperative societies and strengthening 46,500 existing dairy cooperatives.
The goal is not just “more cooperatives on paper”, but stronger milk routes, more collection points, and reliable last-mile aggregation that can scale procurement daily.
Women’s empowerment at the centre
A major thrust of White Revolution 2.0 is women’s self-reliance and empowerment, reflecting the reality that women form the backbone of daily dairy work in many rural households. At the launch, the Ministry of Cooperation explicitly framed dairy cooperatives as one of the strongest vehicles for making rural women financially independent—especially when earnings are channelled in ways that recognise and reward their work.
The government also linked the initiative to wider social outcomes such as better nutrition, because increased milk availability can benefit households and children, especially in poorer communities.
Rural employment and local infrastructure push
White Revolution 2.0 is expected to generate rural jobs not only in animal rearing but across the dairy value chain—collection, testing, chilling, transport, and cooperative administration. As cooperatives expand, they require:
- Collection and testing systems at village points.
- Chilling and cold-chain infrastructure to reduce spoilage and maintain quality.
- Trained manpower for operations, quality checks, route logistics and maintenance.
At the policy level, the Ministry of Cooperation has also emphasised “cooperation among cooperatives” and integrating cooperative institutions so that services and finance flow more smoothly through cooperative channels.
Technology and productivity: the “modernisation” layer
A distinguishing feature of the 2.0 approach is its emphasis on technology-driven upgrading—better procurement systems, stronger testing, and modern dairy infrastructure to support scale and quality. Alongside this, the government has repeatedly underscored self-reliance in dairy-related equipment and systems, indicating a push to reduce import dependence for dairy machinery and strengthen domestic capacity.
The larger modernisation intent is to improve productivity, reduce avoidable losses, and help cooperatives compete in a market where quality and traceability increasingly matter.
Implementation ecosystem: who does what
White Revolution 2.0 is being driven by the Ministry of Cooperation, with the cooperative network as the backbone. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has published an action plan describing how it will support the creation of new societies and the strengthening of existing ones, aligning infrastructure and procurement systems with the 2028–29 procurement target.
The SOP and national cooperative expansion framework are also linked with the plan to form and strengthen a very large number of primary cooperatives (including MPACS, dairy and fishery cooperatives) so that cooperative institutions exist at the panchayat/village level across the country.
FAQs
Q1. What is White Revolution 2.0?
It is a cooperative-led strategy launched by the Ministry of Cooperation to modernise India’s dairy sector and increase milk procurement by dairy cooperatives by 50% over five years (2024–25 to 2028–29).
Q2. When was White Revolution 2.0 launched?
It was launched on 19 September 2024, along with an SOP for White Revolution 2.0.
Q3. What is the procurement target under White Revolution 2.0?
Daily cooperative milk procurement is expected to rise from 660 lakh kg (2023–24) to 1,007 lakh kg by 2028–29.
Q4. How will the target be achieved?
Key steps include setting up about 75,000 new village-level dairy cooperative societies and strengthening about 46,000 existing village-level DCS/PACS with improved procurement and testing infrastructure.
Q5. Why is women’s empowerment a focus area?
The Ministry of Cooperation has highlighted White Revolution 2.0 as a pathway for women’s self-reliance and empowerment through dairy cooperatives and stronger participation in the organised dairy economy.
