Dairy sector contributes 5pc to India's GDP, said President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu has said that the dairy industry plays an important role in ensuring the food and nutritional security of our country. She was addressing the 19th convocation of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research - National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI) at Karnal in Haryana. She conferred degrees to 554 students of the institute.

Speaking on the occasion, she said the dairy sector contributes about five percent to the country's GDP and provides livelihood to about eight crore families in India. Hence, institutions like the NDRI have an important role to play in the inclusive development of the country, she said. The President said that cows and other livestock have been an integral part of Indian society and traditions.

She was happy to note that the NDRI has developed technology to produce clones of high milk-yielding buffaloes and cows. She noted that it would increase the milk production capacity of the animals and enhance the farmers’ income.

The President stressed that women are playing an important role in the management of the dairy industry in India and said that it can play a very important role in making women self-reliant. "Therefore, there is a need to provide them with more opportunities in education, training, and skill development," she said. Women should also be provided easy loans and market access to set up ventures in the dairy sector, the President remarked.

She congratulated the students for receiving degrees and medals and for studying at one of the prestigious institutes which have attained first place amongst all agricultural universities of the country. She expressed happiness while noting that more than one-third of the students receiving degrees were women.