Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, 17 May announced that 75 per cent of profits from Madhur Dairy's newly inaugurated milk processing plant at Dashela village in Gandhinagar district would be transferred directly into the bank accounts of livestock rearers, after deducting operational expenses. The declaration came at the inauguration of a fully automatic milk processing and packaging facility built at an estimated cost of ₹128 crore on 15 acres of land.

What the New Plant Offers

The Dashela facility has been designed with an initial processing capacity of 2.5 lakh litres of milk per day, with provision to scale up to five lakh litres per day in future phases. The plant is fully automated and covers packaging alongside processing, positioning it as one of the more modern cooperative dairy installations in Gujarat.

Shah said the project had been deliberately structured so that cooperative sector earnings flow back to producers. 'After deducting expenses, 75 per cent of the profit will be directly transferred into all your bank accounts,' he said, addressing dairy farmers and livestock rearers at the event.

Women Livestock Rearers Identified as Primary Beneficiaries

Shah emphasised that while consumers of milk, curd, buttermilk, and ghee would benefit from the expanded supply, the largest gains were intended for women associated with the cooperative dairy network. 'The biggest benefit will go to the livestock rearer mothers and sisters sitting in front of me,' he said.

He described the plant as a new beginning for milk producers in Gandhinagar district and said the dairy sector had become a strong economic support system for rural families. He also framed Madhur Dairy's growth as evidence of the broader success of Gujarat's cooperative movement.

Madhur Dairy: From Modest Origins to ₹628 Crore Turnover

According to figures shared at the event, Madhur Dairy began operations in 1971 with just four milk societies collecting approximately 6,400 litres of milk daily. Today, the dairy collects around 2.76 lakh litres per day and reports an annual turnover of approximately ₹628 crore.

Shah noted that the cooperative structure had ensured direct financial participation of milk producers in the dairy economy, and had particularly strengthened women's economic participation in villages — a point that carries political weight as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to spotlight rural women's welfare ahead of upcoming electoral cycles.

State Leadership at the Inauguration

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel described the programme as a new stage in Gandhinagar's development through the dairy sector. 'Madhur Dairy had grown from a small network of cooperative milk societies into a major institution serving both producers and consumers across the district,' he said.

The inauguration was also attended by Gujarat Legislative Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, State Cooperation Minister Jitu Vaghani, State BJP President Jagdish Vishwakarma, Madhur Dairy Chairman Shankarsinh Rana, cooperative leaders, MLAs, dairy board members, livestock rearers, and farmers.

With the new plant operational, Madhur Dairy is positioned to nearly double its processing capacity — a development that will be closely watched by cooperative dairy networks across the state as a potential model for profit-sharing at scale.