Why is Uttar Pradesh the largest milk producer in India?

People are already aware of the fact that India is one of the leading producers of wheat and rice, but do we have any idea regarding the largest milk producer in the world? One cannot even imagine that milk production can be actively viewed from a business front which can earn a huge name, fame, as well as profits. It is India, which is the largest milk producer in the world. During the last financial year, the milk production capacity in India has increased manifold, thus taking India to great heights in terms of milk production.

Image credit: dairyknowledge.in

In India, Uttar Pradesh is the leading state in terms of milk production. It has an annual production of more than 20 million tonnes of milk. Almost 17% of total milk production in India is contributed by Uttar Pradesh. It is also estimated that the number of cows and buffaloes is more than 1.8 crore within the state. The second largest milk producer in India is Rajasthan whereas Andhra Pradesh holds the third position, thus providing a high scale of milk production to India.

Due to the increasing demands of dairy products, a “National Dairy Plan” has been introduced by NDDB so as to meet the needs and demands of the people. The aim of “National Dairy Plan” is to increase the milk production levels within the country. According to an NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) official, there were around 140 million tonnes of milk production in the year 2013-14. According to statistics, around 70% of the milk is used in its raw form and the rest 30% is utilized for processing other dairy products like curd, ghee, cheese, butter and many other products.

It is also estimated that the cows and buffaloes of Uttar Pradesh are not the high yielding breeds, so in order to overcome this drawback the state government of Uttar Pradesh has launched an interest-free scheme known as the Kamdhenu and Mini Kamdhenu dairy units. These dairy units will ensure that the farmers of Uttar Pradesh get the high yielding varieties of animals. It was also stated that by 31st March 2015, there must be 425 units of Kamdhenu and 2500 units of Mini Kamdhenu. At a later stage, Micro Kamdhenu had also been established that would provide 25 animals to the farmers whereas the Kamdhenu and Mini Kamdhenu would provide 100 and 50 animals respectively to the farmers.


Amul and Parag are one of the famous milk manufacturing companies in Uttar Pradesh. A wide range of milk and milk products is being distributed by Parag. The milk products include ghee, butter, cheese, curd, peda, khoa, milk cake, laddu, paneer, milk powder. The brand Amul plans to set up four dairy plants in Uttar Pradesh. This, in turn, will raise the investment levels within the state. According to an official from Amul Company, a total of Rs 600 crore would be the total investment within Uttar Pradesh.

In Uttar Pradesh, various training centers have also been established at places like Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut that aims at imparting education and training to the laborers so as to create awareness among the citizens. The milk production business will also help in providing employment to many unemployed laborers thus bringing in employment generation. This provision of employment will be of great help to the rural UP farmers. Thus, we find that Uttar Pradesh holds the largest share in terms of milk production in India and is gradually developing and expanding its milk production base so as to establish itself to the fullest capacity and satisfy the demands of the entire population of our country.


Article by Anisha Dutta
She is a content evangelist who believes that the Science of today is the Technology of tomorrow. 
She can be reached at https://twitter.com/Anisha_Dutta29