President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday that the dairy sector has a special role in making women self-reliant and changing their social and economic status. Addressing the convocation function of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), Murmu said women have over 70 percent participation in the dairy sector and should be provided easy loans and market access to set up new ventures.
Murmu said women’s power plays an important role in the dairy industry in India. “The dairy sector has a special role in making women self-reliant as well as in changing their social and economic status. Therefore, there is a need to provide them with more opportunities in education, training, and skill development. Women should also be provided easy loans and market access to set up ventures in the dairy sector,” she said.
Due to the increasing population of the country, Murmu said, the demand for milk products is increasing. The President said she was happy to learn that the NDRI is promoting various technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms and focusing on clean energy sources like biogas production.
“The farmers of Punjab and Haryana played a special role in the success of the green revolution as well as the white revolution. I salute all the farmers,” she said. Murmu said the dairy industry also plays an important role in ensuring the food and nutritional security of India. It is a matter of pride that India is the largest milk-producing country in the world and accounts for nearly 22 percent of the global milk production, she said.
“The dairy sector contributes about 5 percent to the country’s GDP and provides livelihood to about eight crore families in India. Hence, institutions like ICAR-NDRI have an important role to play in the inclusive development of the country,” she said.
