Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying celebrates “National Milk Day”: Sh. Gopal Rana received 1st Prize in Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) category

Bengaluru :26/11/22: Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying celebrated “National Milk Day” to commemorate 101^st birth anniversary of the “Father of the White Revolution in India”, Dr. Verghese Kurien also known as the Milkman of India, as a part of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” in Bengaluru today. The prestigious National Gopal Ratna Awards 2022 were conferred during the event.

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Govt. of Karnataka, National Dairy Development Board and Karnataka Milk Federation joined hands to organize this memorable national event in the state of Karnataka.

During the ceremony, the Chief Guest Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India presented the National Gopal Ratna Awards to the winners of the Best Dairy Farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds, Best Artificial Insemination Technician and Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/ Milk Producer Company/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organization in the country.

Felicitating the winners, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying stated that, Indigenous bovine breeds of India are robust and possess the genetic potential to play crucial role in the national economy. Therefore, with a view to conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds in a scientific manner, the “Rashtriya Gokul Mission(RGM)”, was launched in December 2014 for the first time in the country. Under RGM, with an objective to encourage the Milk producing farmer, individuals working in this sector and Dairy cooperative societies / Milk Producer Company / Dairy farmers Producers organizations who provide market access to the milk producers, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying organized National Gopal Ratna Award.

The winners were felicitated with a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh for 1^st rank, Rs. 3 lakh for 2^nd rank and Rs. 2 lakh for 3^rd rank along with a Certificate of merit and a memento in each category. The winners under each category are as given below:

During the event, Dr Sanjeev Balyan, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying laid the foundation stone of Advanced Training Facility at Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute at Heseraghatta, Karnataka Virtually. He also launched the Bovine IVF-(Invitro-fertilization) activities at Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Hesaraghatta, Bangalore.

Shri. Rajesh Kumar, Under Secretary, AHD speech on ‘National Milk Day’

Union Secretary, AHD, Shri. Rajesh Kumar Singh during his introductory speech stated that, CFSP&TI and CCBF are the premier farms under Department of AHD, and these farms have played a vital role in the milk production of our country, by adopting improved and advanced breeding technologies in animal breeding. He further stated that, the new State of the Art training facility will impart capacity building for professionals working under various schemes launched by the Department which will ensure the effective implementation.

Ms. Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary (Cattle and Dairy Development) during her welcome address mentioned that, under the Advanced breed improvement programs (ABIP) of RGM scheme, CCBF, Hassarghatta has taken up the implementation of IVF activities for faster genetic improvement in dairy cows, which will ensure to increase the milk production in the country.

Shri S T Somashekhar, Minister of Co-operation, Karnataka, and Shri Balachandra L. Jarkiholi, Chairman, KMF also graced the occasion with their presence. During the function a book on the life of Dr. Varghese Kurian and a booklet on Milk Adulteration were released.

More than 1500 farmers from different Milk unions of Karnataka participated in the event. 50000 farmers joined the event virtually through 1000 Village level camps organized through Common Service Centers. The Officials from Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Department and Dairy farmers from various dairy co-operatives  also participated virtually in the event.