Amul will be merged with five other cooperative societies to form a multi-state cooperative society (MSCS), Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday. Addressing the 70th plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) here, Shah said the process for the merger has already started.
"The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving priority to natural agriculture and digital agriculture and for certification of natural products, the process to form a multi-state cooperative society by merging Amul and five other cooperative societies has been started," he said.
The MSCS will ensure the export of the products after its certification so that profit can go directly into the bank accounts of the farmers, he added. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd markets its products under the Amul brand.
Earlier on Friday, while speaking at the North-Eastern Cooperative Dairy Conclave in Gangtok, Shah emphasised the need to double milk production in the country over the next five years, not just to meet the demand in the domestic market, but also those of neighbouring countries.
"We have a huge opportunity to deliver milk to countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and to explore this world market, the government is setting up a multi-state cooperative which will act as the export house," he had said.