UPSC CSE 2026 Essay Paper Discussion
GS Paper 3 10 marks · 150w 9 min Easy

Discuss the achievements of Operation Flood and the role of NDDB in sustaining India’s leadership in milk production.

Subtopic: Agriculture · Animal husbandry

Model answer outline

How to structure your answer

Introduction: India produced 230.58 MT of milk in 2022-23 (DAHD Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2024), world's largest producer (~24% global); Operation Flood (1970-96) under V. Kurien and NDDB.

Body: 1) Achievements — Anand pattern cooperatives, milk per capita 459 g/day. 2) Schemes — Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM, ₹2,400 crore), National Dairy Plan-II, e-Gopala app, IVF Mission Sex-Sorted Semen. 3) Constraints — low productivity (4-5 kg/day vs global 25 kg), feed costs, climate stress.

Way forward: Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act amendment for inter-state cooperatives; Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (₹29,610 crore) deployment.

Full model answer

Written within the word limit

140 words · target 150 words · 9 min

Introduction: India produced 230.58 million tonnes of milk in 2022-23 (DAHD Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2024), retaining its position as the world's largest producer with ~24% of global output; Operation Flood under V. Kurien and the National Dairy Development Board (1970-96) created the cooperative architecture.

Body: First, Operation Flood replicated the Anand pattern across India, lifting per-capita availability to 459 g/day and embedding Amul, Mother Dairy, and Banas Dairy as anchor brands. Second, current support flows through the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (₹2,400 crore) for indigenous breeds, the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (₹29,610 crore), and the e-Gopala digital platform. Third, productivity remains 4-5 kg/day per animal versus ~25 kg globally, with feed costs and climate stress as binding constraints.

Way forward: Operationalise Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act amendments under "Sahakar Se Samriddhi," expand IVF Sex-Sorted Semen Mission, and deploy AHIDF for chilling-processing infrastructure by 2030 under DAHD.

Key points

What an examiner expects to see

  • Milk output 230.58 MT (DAHD 2022-23)
  • Per capita 459 g/day
  • Operation Flood 1970-96
  • Rashtriya Gokul Mission ₹2,400 crore
  • AHIDF ₹29,610 crore
  • e-Gopala digital platform
Examples to use

Concrete cases, schemes and judgments

  • Amul, Mother Dairy
  • NDDB Anand model
  • Banas Dairy Gujarat
  • Sahakar Se Samriddhi push
Keywords / terms

Terminology to weave into the answer

Operation FloodNDDBRashtriya Gokul MissionAHIDFwhite revolution
Sources to read

Primary sources and verified references

DAHD Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2024 https://dahd.nic.in/ Anantam IAS — White Revolution India https://anantamias.com/white-revolution-india/ Anantam IAS — Animal Husbandry Dairy India https://anantamias.com/animal-husbandry-dairy-india/

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