Agenda: Review, Inauguration and Groundbreaking
The delegation of Members of Parliament toured Banas Dairy’s Palanpur processing complex, inspecting Cheese, UHT and Protein plants and assessing initiatives in agri-value addition. Shri Amit Shah is scheduled to inaugurate the Agthala Bio-CNG and Fertilizer Plant and perform the groundbreaking for a 150 TPD Milk Powder and Baby Food Plant at Sanadar during a public meeting on December 6.
Ministers of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Murlidhar Mohol, senior officials from the Ministry of Cooperation and Parliamentarians joined the visit, which aims to strengthen the cooperative sector’s contribution to rural prosperity under the government’s Sahakar Se Samriddhi objectives.
Cooperative Model and Circular Economy
Officials highlighted how Banas Dairy’s integrated approach linking farmer producers, chilling centres, advanced processing and by-product utilisation underpins farmer incomes and local employment. The Agthala Bio-CNG and Fertilizer Plant exemplifies circular-economy thinking by converting dairy waste into clean fuel and organic inputs that can augment farmers’ revenues.
The planned milk powder and baby-food facility aims to add value to raw milk, expand shelf-stable product capacity and open new markets, strengthening price realisation for milk producers and boosting cooperative returns.
Farm to Industry: Livestock & R&D Focus
The delegation will visit the Dama Semen Station and the Embryo Transfer Lab at Raiya to review breeding and productivity interventions. Officials say such facilities are central to improving bovine genetics, enhancing milk yields and supporting sustained growth of the milk economy.
Members will also see grassroots cooperatives in action at Sherpura Village Dairy Cooperative Society (VDCS) and the Banas Soil Testing Lab at Tharad, emphasising how primary societies feed the value chain and benefit from technical and financial support.
Environmental Stewardship & Community Outreach
Banas Dairy’s environmental programmes feature prominently on the itinerary. The cooperative has undertaken large-scale plantation drives — reportedly involving seed balls and saplings — and constructed water-conservation assets such as Amrit Sarovars. MPs will participate in a tree-planting event at Lunava to underscore the link between sustainability and rural livelihoods.
The visit also highlights Banas Dairy’s expanded role in input supply, farmer training and market linkages that contribute to regional agri-value chains, including recent collaborations to strengthen potato and other crop value chains. More on Banas Dairy’s work is available on its official site.
Policy Context and National Goals
The field visit aligns with the Ministry of Cooperation’s push to scale cooperative enterprises into robust business models that deliver inclusive growth. Officials say these programmes feed into the larger national agenda for rural prosperity, employment generation and sustainable agribusiness objectives repeatedly emphasised by the Union Government.
The Parliamentary Consultative Committee will meet at Banas Dairy on December 6 for its third session to formally review cooperative dairy development measures and consider recommendations for scaling best practices nationally.
