BTech (Dairy Tenchnolgy) – join the creamy layer

P Oppili

Chennai: She comes from a family of engineers, but R Hema of Tiruvallur decided to take another route — one that led to a dairy farm.

She was one of the students who completed B Tech Dairy Technology. offered by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) last year. Now, a year later, she seems happier than ever with her decision.

The prospects are appearing brighter for students who opt to go the milky way. With reports stating that India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of milk, accounting for a fifth of the world production, and estimated to hit a Rs 2.5 trillion market by 2020, it’s no wonder C Balachandran, vice-chancellor of Tanuvas, finds that the demand for dairy technology is also going up. And with increasing investor interest – reports say that Gurugrambased startup MoooFarm, which has developed an app to track cattle health, received a $15,000 grant from Microsoft a few weeks ago – the number of players too in the segment is growing.

A Gideon, 23, for instance, says that as soon as he completed his B Tech in Dairy Technology from the TANUVAS-run College  he was offered a job. “I joined as a technical officer with a gross salary of Rs 21,000. In the government ector, one can be employed as a deputy manager with a gross salary of Rs 35,000,” he says

Dr Hariharan, general manager, milk production, says the dairy industry is growing well in the country over the last four decades. “You need dairy technology graduates to set up, run and maintain the plant,” says Hariharan, who after completing his under graduation in veterinary science and a master’s in marketing, joined Aavin in 1986.

Every state it has a milk brand of its own, says Hariharan. “Now private farms too have come in good numbers in the southern states. The contribution of milk and dairy products to the country’s GDP is more than that of agriculture.”

Graduates can find jobs in dairy farms, cooperatives, and milk product processing and manufacturing industries. There are also opportunities in research. With a BTech in Dairy Technology, one can work as a dairy technologist or scientist in National Dairy Development Board of India or as dairy scientists and researchers in government supervised research and development organizations.

In south India, there is a large number of small and medium dairy farms, which require students who have completed the dairy technology course. “Apart from that there are a dozen bigger cattle and dairy farms. Hence the demand for the dairy technology course is on the rise,” says Balachandran.

The quality of standards though is one issue in the dairy industry, which needs to be improve