India dismisses plan for milk Minimum Support Price, keeps market‑linked pricing

The Indian government, through Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), told Parliament there is no proposal to set a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for milk. Prices will continue to be determined by cooperatives and private dairies based on market conditions.

The ministry highlighted several dairy‑sector initiatives: 36,283 new village‑level Dairy Cooperative Societies were created and 31,150 existing ones were strengthened; 168 lakh litres per day of milk‑chilling capacity and 76,748 quality‑testing devices were added; and projects covering 418 lakh litres per day of processing and value‑addition capacity were approved.

Government data show milk production rose to 248 million metric tonnes in 2024‑25, a 69 % increase from 146 MMT in 2014‑15. Artificial inseminations reached 17.27 crore, expanding coverage from 20 % to 42 % and boosting productivity by 67 %. While about 63 % of production reaches the market, 68 % of the surplus is still handled by the unorganised sector, prompting a focus on expanding organised procurement.