Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate three Banas Dairy projects worth a combined ₹407.56 crore in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on 30 October 2026, and lay the foundation stones for two Bio-CNG plants at Tharad and Radhanpur, as part of a two-day state visit on 30–31 October. The events mark one of the largest single-day infrastructure pushes for cooperative dairy in Gujarat in recent years.

Three Projects Being Inaugurated

The flagship facility is the Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre (BBBRC) at Bhildi, built at a cost of ₹324.77 crore and spread across 127 acres. Designed as a centre of excellence for animal breeding, the BBBRC focuses on genetic improvement and innovation in bovine stock. Under the Centre's Rashtriya Gokul Mission, ₹38.83 crore has been sanctioned for the facility — including ₹2 crore for donor animals — while technical support comes from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). The project has been approved under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) scheme and is backed financially by NABARD.

The second project, a French fries processing plant at Sanadar in Deodar taluka, has been built at ₹51.65 crore. Work to expand its production capacity from two tonnes to five tonnes per hour commenced in April 2026. Banas Dairy has developed an integrated production chain covering laboratory plantlet development, seed-crop cultivation, cold-storage potato handling, and consumer processing — a model reportedly not replicated by any other cooperative organisation or agency in India.

The third project is an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) at Palanpur, constructed for ₹31.14 crore. The nine-level steel-rack structure accommodates 11,000 pallets and is built for automated storage and dispatch of ultra-high-temperature (UHT) dairy products. Developed in-house by Banas Dairy, the system has helped reduce costs, with additional revenue benefiting its 4.18 lakh milk producers. Both the French fries plant and the ASRS will be inaugurated virtually.

Foundation Stones for Two Bio-CNG Plants

Modi will also virtually lay the foundation stones for two new Bio-CNG plants. The plant at Tharad will have a processing capacity of 75 metric tonnes of cattle dung, while the one at Radhanpur will handle 100 metric tonnes. Banas Dairy already operates four such plants that convert cattle dung into Bio-CNG for vehicle fuel and organic fertiliser. The two new facilities are expected to expand clean-energy and fertiliser output while providing livestock farmers an additional source of income.

Key Attendees

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and Assembly Speaker and Banas Dairy chairman Shankar Chaudhary are scheduled to attend. State ministers Jitu Vaghani and Rushikesh Patel, along with MPs, MLAs, and milk producers from Banaskantha, are also expected to be present. Dairy sector representation will include NDDB chairman Dr Meenesh Shah, the chairman and managing director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), and Banas Dairy managing director Sangram Chaudhary.

Broader Significance for Cooperative Dairy

The projects reflect Banas Dairy's strategic expansion beyond conventional milk processing into animal breeding, automated logistics, food processing, and agricultural-waste-to-energy conversion. This comes amid a wider push by the Centre to strengthen rural cooperative infrastructure and diversify farmer incomes — particularly in states like Gujarat where dairy cooperatives form a backbone of the rural economy. The two new Bio-CNG plants, once operational, will add to a growing portfolio of clean-energy assets within the cooperative model, a template that other states may look to replicate.