The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is all set to roll out its ambitious, 15-year-long National Dairy Plan, envisaging an outlay of Rs 17,300 crore, with the Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, launching its first phase here on April 19.
The Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, will be the chief guest at the ceremony to be held at the NDDB headquarters. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industry, Dr Charan Das Mahant, will also be present, an NDDB official said here on Tuesday.
The Government had recently approved a new central sector scheme, National Dairy Plan–Phase I (NDP-I), with an outlay of Rs 2,242 crore. It is a six-year plan to be implemented in the 14 major milk producing States of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Kerala.
The scheme will be largely financed with loan from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank and implemented by NDDB through End Implementing Agencies (EIAs) located in the States.
NDP aims to increase the productivity of milch animals by adopting focused, scientific and systematic processes and help provide rural milk producers with greater access to the organised milk processing sector.