Kerala Celebrities
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Verghese
Kurien
Architect of India's Milk Revolution,also known as the Milkman
of India,and made India the largest milk producer in the world.
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Profile
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Dr.
Verghese Kurien (born November 26, 1921) is called the father
of the White Revolution in India. He is also known as the
Milkman of India.
His
Achievements:
He
is the chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing
Federation Ltd.(GCMMF). GCMMF is an apex cooperative organization
that manages the Amul food brand,(Anand Milk Union Limited-AMUL).
He is recognised as the man behind the success of the Amul
brand.
He
is credited with architecting Operation Flood -- the largest
dairy development program in the world. Dr. Kurien, set up
the Anand model of cooperative dairy development, engineered
the White Revolution in India, and made India the largest
milk producer in the world.
Relevance:
The
White Revolution. Milk was scarce in urban areas while in
rural areas milk producers could not make a decent living.
Distribution was a key problem, there were also various vested
interests, lack of information and infrastructure. Anand's
Kaira Milk Co-operative showed how problems could be tackled.
The
White Revolution found a way to provide cheap milk for under-nourished
children in the Mumbai area and Gujarat, and later all over
India. The techniques and technologies used were then copied
by others.
Professional
management, teaching farmers to use quality equipment, innovative
processes meant the professionalisation of farming.
Kurien's
philosophy was simple -- put power in the hands of the people.
Empowering
the masses and initiating constructive social change in rural
areas -- from building 'milk roads' to participating in elections. |
| Education:
Dr.
Kurien graduated with Physics from Loyola College, Madras
in 1940 and then did B.E. (Mech) from the University of Madras.
After passing out of the University, he joined the Tata Steel
Technical Institute, Jamshedpur from where he graduated in
1946. He then went to USA on a government scholarship to earn
his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (with distinction)
from Michigan State University.
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Career:
When
he came back to India, he was posted as a dairy engineer at
the government creamery, Anand, in May 1949. Around the same
time, the infant cooperative dairy, Kaira District Cooperative
Milk Producers' Union Limited (KDCMPUL), -- now famous as
Amul -- was fighting a battle with the Polson Dairy, which
was privately owned. Young Kurien, fed up with being at the
government creamery, which held no challenge, volunteered
to help Shri Tribhuvandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL,
to set up a processing plant. This marked the birth of AMUL.
The
White Revolution:
Dr. Kurien has since then built this organization into one
of the largest and most successful institutions in India.
The Amul pattern of cooperatives had been so successful, in
1965, then Prime Minister of India, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri,
created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) (NDDB)
to replicate the program on a nationwide basis citing Dr.
Kurien's "extraordinary and dynamic leadership"
upon naming him chairman.
Kurien
also set up GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation)
in 1973 to sell the products produced by the dairies. Today
GCMMF sells AMUL brand products not only in India but also
overseas.
Dr.
Kurien, plays a key role in many other organizations, ranging
from chairing the Viksit Bharat Foundation, a body set up
by the President of India to chairman of the Institute of
Rural Management's Board of Governors in India.
Awards:
For his contribution to the dairy industry, Dr. Kurien has
received top awards not only in India but also overseas.
*1963
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
*1965
Padma Shri
*1966
Padma Bhushan (from president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan)
*1986
Krishi Ratna Award (by the President of India)
*1986
Wateler Peace Prize Award (of Carnegie Foundation )
*1989
World Food Prize Laureate
*1993
International Person of the Year (by the World
Dairy Expo, Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
*1999
Padma Vibhushan
.. amul.com
.. THE
AMUL SAGA by Verghese Kurien
Visit Verghese Kurien
's Profile in SocialPulse.com
Courtesy:
Wikipedia, Web Media, |
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