Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to inaugurate the Indian Dairy Cooperative Conclave to be held in Gangtok in Sikkim from November-December this year.

It is learnt that the Chairman of the National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI), Mangal Jit Rai, has requested Mr Shah to inaugurate the event as the duo met in Delhi yesterday. The vice-chairman of the Sikkim Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, Mr Rai was elected the chairman of the NCDFI, and he is the first Sikkimese to chair the NCDFI for two terms in a row, sources said.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah has accepted the proposal as Mr Rai extended an invitation to him in a meeting in Delhi yesterday,” a source said. According to Mr Rai, the conclave is being organised on the theme “Resilient Indian Dairy Cooperatives-Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities” to discuss various trends in the dairy cooperatives sector and to chalk out future strategic policy direction.

It is learnt that the conclave will be attended by as many as 2000 delegates representing various segments of the dairy cooperative, international organisations like the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), National Cooperative Development Corporation, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, National Dairy Development Corporation, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Universities, Dairy Farmers, State Cooperative Dairy Federation, Dairy and Milk Unions and Cooperative Societies.

“During the meeting yesterday, NCDFI chairman Mangal Jit Rai informed Home Minister Amit Shah that India ranks first among the world’s milk producing nations, achieving an annual output of 198.4 million tonnes of milk during 2019-20, and recording a growth of 35.6 per cent during the last six years.

India’s milk production accounts for 17 per cent of the world’s total output. The per capita availability of milk in India stands at 394 grams per day. Around 80 million dairy cooperative farmers are engaged in milk production in the country and the progress is primarily attributable to structural changes in the Indian dairy industry,” the source said.