~NCDFI’s Anand conclave marks four decades of dairy-cooperative defence partnership, highlighting milk supplies to troops, border areas and benefits to dairy farmers.
Anand, Gujarat, August 11 (VNI): The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Ltd. (NCDFI) organised a Cooperative Conclave on Dairy-Defence Partnership under the theme “From Farmers to Frontlines” at the Dr Verghese Kurien Auditorium, NDDB, Anand. The conclave recognised the contribution of dairy cooperatives in ensuring quality milk and milk products to Defence establishments, particularly in remote, border and high-altitude areas.
The programme was attended by Lt Gen Mukesh Chadha, AVSM, SM, VSM, Director General of Supplies and Transport (DGST), Indian Army, Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NCDFI and NDDB, Maj Gen S Sooraj, VSM, Additional Director General Supplies & Transport, senior Army officials and Managing Directors of dairy cooperatives from border and North-Eastern states. Discussions focused on operational experiences, emerging requirements and future opportunities for cooperative supplies to the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Assam Rifles.
Lt Gen Mukesh Chadha appreciated NCDFI and its member cooperatives for ensuring reliable supplies to troops deployed in difficult terrains. He said a stronger dairy-cooperative presence in border areas could promote local milk production, create employment and livelihood opportunities and contribute to reversing migration. He also called for closer Army-NCDFI coordination to expand fresh-milk supplies wherever local procurement, processing, cold-chain and logistics permit, while maintaining adequate UHT milk capacity wherever operationally essential.
Dr Meenesh Shah said the partnership benefits all stakeholders, with Defence establishments receiving dependable supplies and resilient local supply chains, cooperatives gaining assured institutional markets and dairy farmers getting wider markets and regular income. He noted that NCDFI’s association with the Ministry of Defence, which began in 1984, has grown into an institutional partnership involving 117 dairy cooperatives, with a contract value of ₹1,627 crore in 2025-26. Fresh milk supplies reached 18.48 crore litres, while combined fresh and UHT milk supplies stood at 22.60 crore litres. Ten dairy cooperatives from border and North-Eastern regions supplied 6.44 crore litres of fresh milk to 196 Army units during 2025-26.
The conclave concluded with a renewed commitment to improve demand visibility, map product-wise capacities, strengthen alternate supply arrangements, quality and cold-chain systems, enable digital coordination, diversify the product basket and develop sustainable logistics. Representatives of participating cooperatives also shared their achievements, challenges, difficult-terrain experiences and opportunities for wider collaboration. VNI NEWS, NCDFI Dairy Defence Partnership, Dairy Cooperatives, Defence Milk Supply, From Farmers to Frontlines, NDDB Anand, NCDFI, NDDB, Dairy Cooperatives, Indian Army, Dairy Defence Partnership, Anand, Gujarat, VNINews, VNINews.com