Guwahati: In a bid to give a fresh boost to Assam’s dairy sector, the state government on Sunday introduced a new subsidy scheme offering Rs 5 per litre of milk to dairy farmers.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the initiative at a programme in Guwahati, where he also laid the foundation stone for expanding the Panjabari plant of West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Ltd (WAMUL), which sells under the Purabi Dairy brand.
“Empowering our dairy farmers. Today, we formally rolled out the subsidy scheme for our dairy farmers who will now receive Rs 5/litre subsidy for the milk they give for processing at cooperative societies,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.
He said the scheme will encourage dairy farmers to increase production, boost their income and bring a dairy revolution in the rural areas, “which will feed into the ambitious processing plants we are building and churn out more opportunities for the people of Assam”.
This initiative is expected to benefit over 20,000 dairy farmers across the state, officials said.
CM Sarma also participated in the ‘bhoomi pujan’ for the expansion of the Panjabari plant of WAMUL, which runs the popular brand Purabi Diary.
The upgraded facility will double the plant’s milk processing capacity from 1.5 LLPD to 3 LLPD, an official statement said.
The Rs 104 crore expansion project is in accordance with the MoU signed between WAMUL and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) during the Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit in February.
Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said, “The expansion of the Purabi Dairy plant is a crucial step towards realising our vision of a self-reliant Assam in the dairy sector. By doubling the processing capacity of this plant, we are not only ensuring better market access for a larger number of dairy farmers in the state but also enhancing nutritional security for our people.”
Meenesh Shah, chairman, NDDB and WAMUL, said, “With this expansion, we are building the capacity needed to support a growing dairy network, improving milk collection, streamlining processing and reaching more consumers across the region.”
The Panjabari plant is the largest dairy processing facility in the North East region.
Under the expansion plan, pasteurised pouch milk production will rise from 1.15 LLPD to 2.0 LLPD.
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A new ice cream production facility of 20 TLPD (thousand litres per day), expandable to 30 TLPD, and other dairy products totalling 70 TLPD will be included in the expansion.
This plant is part of the Assam Dairy Development Plan (ADDP), which envisions processing 10 LLPD across the state in the formal dairy sector.
