Prime Minister to Unveil Major Cooperative Ventures in Banaskantha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to launch three major infrastructure and research initiatives for Banas Dairy, totaling Rs 407.56 crore, during his upcoming two-day official visit to Gujarat on October 30 and 31. The unveilings will take place from Bhildi in the Banaskantha district, marking a significant milestone for the region's cooperative sector, agricultural ecosystem, and advanced livestock breeding operations.

Leading the slate of developments is the Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre in Bhildi, which spans a sprawling 127-acre campus built at a cost of Rs 324.77 crore. Designed as a dedicated Centre of Excellence for genetic advancement and bovine breeding, the facility received technical guidance from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Funding for the project includes a Rs 38.83 crore grant under the central government's Rashtriya Gokul Mission, featuring a dedicated allocation of Rs two crore specifically for donor animals.

The initiative was approved under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund scheme with robust financial backing from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

Expansion of Processing and Supply Chain Logistics

In addition to the central research complex, the Prime Minister will virtually inaugurate an upgraded French fries processing plant located at Sanadar in Deodar taluka. Developed with an investment of Rs 51.65 crore, the facility underwent extensive expansion to scale its processing capacity from two tonnes to five tonnes per hour.

Banas Dairy maintains a fully integrated production framework that encompasses test-tube plantlet development, field seed crop cultivation, cold storage, and final retail delivery, setting a benchmark as the only cooperative organization in India to operate such a comprehensive end-to-end system.

Logistical efficiency within the dairy supply chain will receive a further boost with the virtual inauguration of an Automated Storage and Retrieval System in Palanpur. Constructed at a cost of Rs 31.14 crore, the high-tech warehousing facility is engineered for the seamless handling, storage, and dispatch of Ultra-High Temperature (UHT) milk products. Featuring nine-level steel racks with an 11,000-pallet capacity, the in-house developed automated logistics model reduces operational expenditure, directly benefiting the 4.18 lakh milk producers affiliated with the cooperative.

Advancing Green Energy Initiatives

Reinforcing its commitment to sustainable infrastructure, Banas Dairy will also initiate the construction of two new Bio-CNG plants located in Tharad and Radhanpur, with the Prime Minister laying their foundation stones virtually.

Complementing the four existing operational plants that convert cattle dung into vehicular fuel and organic fertilizer, the new Tharad plant will feature a daily processing capacity of 75 metric tonnes of cow dung, while the Radhanpur plant will process 100 metric tonnes daily. These facilities are projected to scale up green energy generation while establishing a reliable secondary revenue stream from agricultural and livestock waste for local farmers.