India has a leading sector globally, which employs over 70% women of the country. This sector is our Dairy Industry. This is a revolution that has occurred in rural India. There is no other bigger example of women empowerment than our Indian Dairy Sector.

It has been observed that every morning women get up early and manage to get milk from the animals. They nourish the animals just like their own children. They are the backbone in dairy cooperative model. They have contributed endlessly to the growth and development of our nation.

Before the implementation of the dairy programmes, women were spending 30% of their time on agricultural labor and after its implementation, they dedicated 50% of their time to the dairy and received higher returns, says the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Data says, more than 0.32 million women serve in village-level dairy co-operative societies’ management committees, and 354 women serve on the boards of the milk union and state federation. In India, there are around 25,000 exclusive women’s dairy co-operative societies.

This is not just revolutionising the rural economy but also making it ‘Aatmanirbhar’. We are delighted to be a part of a sector that performs on a worldwide scale and is driven majorly by smart and hardworking women. With the Aatmanirbhar Bharat as a slogan of modern India, women of India have proved themselves and became the live example of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Women Empowerment.

On this women’s day, we pay our gratitude to them for shaping this sector into what it is today.