Pashushala: From Operation Flood to Digital Platforms: India's Dairy Revolution Is Entering I...
From Operation Flood to Digital Platforms: India's Dairy Revolution Is Entering Its Next Phase In 1970, India was importing milk powder. By 1998, it had become the world's largest milk producer. That shift — known as Operation Flood — didn't happen because of a single technology or a single policy. It happened because a supply chain was rebuilt from the ground up, connecting village cooperatives to urban consumers through a structured, trusted network. Today, India's dairy sector stands at a similar inflection point. The infrastructure question is no longer about chilling units and procurement routes. It's about who controls price discovery, market access, and buyer-seller trust in a digital-first economy. --- What Operation Flood Actually Built — and What It Left Unfinished Operation Flood, led by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) under Dr. Verghese Kurien, created the cooperative model that powered Amul and dozens of state federations. Its core mecha...