Amit Shah Inaugurates Banas Dairy’s Bio-CNG, Fertilizer & New Growth Projects

Shri Shah highlighted the remarkable journey of Banas Dairy, founded by Galbabhai Nanjibhai Patel, which has grown from a small cooperative of eight villages into a ₹24,000-crore dairy powerhouse.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurated Banas Dairy’s newly constructed Bio-CNG and Fertilizer Plant in Vav–Tharad, Gujarat, and laid the foundation stone for a 150-ton milk powder plant. The event was attended by Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shri Shankar Chaudhary, Union Ministers of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Cooperation Secretary Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, and several other dignitaries.

Shri Shah highlighted the remarkable journey of Banas Dairy, founded by Galbabhai Nanjibhai Patel, which has grown from a small cooperative of eight villages into a ₹24,000-crore dairy powerhouse. He praised the women of Banaskantha, emphasizing that their relentless contribution in milk collection and dairy operations has created a global model of rural women-led economic growth. Today, Banas Dairy stands as Asia’s largest milk-producing cooperative.

The Minister shared that nearly 250 Chairmen and Managing Directors of dairies nationwide will visit Banaskantha in January to study this extraordinary cooperative success story. He recalled how water scarcity once restricted farmers to a single crop. But with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s interventions—bringing surplus water from the Narmada and Mahi rivers under schemes like Sujalam–Sufalam—the region now produces up to three crops annually, transforming livelihoods.

Recognizing that India has often failed to fully document its biggest achievements, Shri Shah announced a detailed academic study to capture Banaskantha’s water revolution, its socioeconomic impact, and its role in shaping modern rural development.

Paying tribute on the death anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Shah noted that the Constitution architected by Baba Saheb empowers the weakest sections of society. He also acknowledged the culmination of Gujarat’s padyatra marking the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose cooperative vision laid the foundation for dairy-led rural prosperity.

At the event, Banas Dairy unveiled multiple new facilities, including the Bio-CNG plant, a high-tech automated paneer unit, a modern protein plant, and preparations for the new milk powder plant. Shah said that Banas Dairy’s leadership in the circular economy—turning dairy waste into biofuel, manure and energy—is becoming a national model.

He stressed that every gram of cattle dung should be converted into value-added by-products such as bio-gas, bio-CNG, and organic fertilizer, ensuring additional income streams for livestock farmers. He also handed over a list of high-value dairy products currently not manufactured in India but in high demand globally, urging Amul and Banas Dairy to lead in diversifying into these premium categories.

Shri Shah announced that cooperative dairies will soon manufacture their own animal feed rather than buying it from the open market—ensuring higher profits flow directly to farmers' bank accounts. He reaffirmed that the Government of India has already prepared the technological and financial ecosystem needed for this transformation.

To strengthen the agriculture and dairy value chain, he highlighted the formation of three new national-level cooperatives for seeds, organic products, and agricultural exports, alongside three dedicated multi-state cooperatives for the dairy sector. These institutions will integrate activities ranging from cheese, protein and baby food production to edible oil packaging, cold storage, honey processing, potato products, seed development and more—ensuring all profits reach farmers.

Shri Shah assured the people of Banaskantha that even without increasing milk production, adopting the circular economy model will raise farmers’ incomes by at least 20% within the next five years. He emphasized that Banas Dairy’s headquarters will serve as the national command center for implementing this transformation.

He also announced new digital and financial services for village milk societies through micro-ATMs, which will soon expand into broader financial offerings. With the support of the National Gokul Mission, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, National Dairy Plan and the National Animal Disease Control Programme, Shah expressed confidence that Prime Minister Modi's White Revolution 2.0 will propel India into a new era of dairy-led prosperity.

Shri Amit Shah concluded by reaffirming that the model pioneered in Banaskantha will not remain local; it is set to uplift millions of farmers across India, redefining the future of the cooperative movement and the rural economy.