Operation Flood’s Objectives
- Increase milk production (“a flood of milk”)
- Augment rural incomes
- Ensure reasonable prices for consumers
Programme Implementation
Operation Flood was implemented in three phases:
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Phase I was financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil gifted by the European Union (then EEC) through the World Food Programme. NDDB planned the programme and negotiated the details of EEC assistance. During this phase, Operation Flood linked 18 of India’s premier milksheds with consumers in the four major metropolitan cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.
Phase I (1970–1980)
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Phase II expanded the number of milksheds from 18 to 136. Around 290 urban markets were tapped for milk distribution. By 1985, a self-sustaining system of 43,000 village cooperatives covered 4.25 million milk producers. Domestic milk powder production increased significantly, and cooperative-led marketing flourished.
Phase II (1981–1985)
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Phase III strengthened infrastructure for milk procurement and marketing. Services like veterinary first-aid, feed, and AI were extended. 30,000 new cooperatives were added, and women’s participation in DCS rose. Innovations like Theileriosis vaccines and urea-molasses blocks enhanced productivity.
Phase III (1985–1996)
From the outset, Operation Flood was conceived and implemented as much more than a dairy programme. Rather, dairying was seen as an instrument of development—generating employment and regular incomes for millions of rural people. Operation Flood can be viewed as a twenty-year experiment confirming the rural development vision.
