Verka the flagship brand of the Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (Milkfed Punjab), the apex body for the procurement and marketing of dairy produce of Punjab, has been awarded for Leadership Role in Milk Processing by Krishi Udyami Krishak Vikas Chamber at the Progressive Agri Leadership Summit 2021 organised at Y.S.Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Nauni-Solan, Himachal Pradesh by Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India. The award was received by Kamaldeep Singh Sangha, Managing Director, Milkfed Punjab.Disclosing this, MD Milkfed Punjab Mr. Sangha informed that the award has been presented to Milkfed Punjab in recognition for its outstanding contribution in installing the state of the art dairy processing infrastructure in North India. He further said that in the recent years Milkfed Punjab has taken many innovative and new initiatives. In series of such efforts, Milkfed has installed new and modern fermented Dairy at Verka Mohali Dairy, aseptic milk packaging unit at Verka Mega Dairy Bassi Pathana, automated dairy at Verka Amritsar Dairy & state of art milk powder plant at Verka Jalandhar Dairy with an outlay of approximately Rs.300 crores.
Mr. Sangha further informed that Milkfed Punjab is also in the process of installing new improvised processing capacities at various plants, like automated dairy at Verka Ludhiana Dairy & new bypass protein plant at Verka Cattle Feed plant Ghania Ke Bangar, Phase-2 & 3 of Verka Mega Dairy, central laboratory at Verka Mohali Dairy and new cheese plant at Verka Patiala Dairy with an outlay of Rs.450 crores. The projects are going to be completed & made fully operational by 2024.Managing Director Milkfed added that Sh. Parshottam Rupala, Minister of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, while addressing the gathering assured to extend all kind of support required, to boost the milk processing infrastructure, and to strengthen and improve the quality of milk product by providing liberal financial support under various schemes of Government of India, on regular basis, so that the socio economic livelihood of the dairy farmers is uplifted.While lauding Milkfed Punjab for its achievement’s Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that Milkfed has played a pivotal role in improving the milk processing set up of Punjab.
He appreciated that dairy has become an important source of income for millions of rural families and has therefore achieved most important role in employment generation in rural India. The various modernization initiatives taken by Milkfed Punjab are bound to help dairy of Punjab in boosting quality processing of raw milk and production of quality dairy products in clean and hygienic manner and making them available to the consumers at reasonable prices. This process shall entail paying better remunerative price to dairy farmers, which will finally help in increasing farmers’ income and making dairy farming viable and sustainable.He further added that Milkfed Punjab is contributing in a significant & sustainable manner in the upliftment of socio-economic status of rural masses by increasing their net daily income and helping the depressed economy making recovery after COVID-19 pandemic by alleviating rural distress.It was informed by Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa that by taking all such initiatives Milkfed has managed to generate direct and indirect employment for Punjab with which Punjab’s Dairy economy shall usher in new era.