Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today launched the ‘Doodh Protsahan Yojana’ and freight subsidy scheme from Arki Assembly constituency in Solan district. In a function held at Daralghat, the Chief Minister distributed Rs. 1.45 crore via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to 8,000 livestock farmers associated with two private milk cooperatives- Gau Amrit Samiti, Paplota Samiti and Amrit Dhara Samiti, Darlaghat of Solan district and Kamdhenu Samiti and Kehlur Doosh Samiti of Bilaspur district for the months of July and August.
Additionally, these milk cooperatives were provided Rs. 1.59 crore as transport subsidy at rupees three per litre which was Rs. 1.50 per litre earlier. The state government has increased the transport subsidy from to rupees three per litre.
Through these initiatives, farmers are expected to gain a financial benefit of Rs. 18.24 crore per year. The Chief Minister also distributed Rs. 28.80 lakh to eight self-help groups of Arki Assembly constituency under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana and Rs. 34.20 lakh to 10 progressive milk producers of Kamdhenu Hitkari Manch, Namhol.
He also launched a mobile app for the convenience of truck operators. He said that the state government was making special efforts to strengthen the rural economy and Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country where cow milk was being purchased at a rate of Rs. 51 per litre while buffalo milk at Rs. 61 per litre through the Himachal Pradesh Milk Federation.
He described the day as historic for the state's livestock farmers, as the Doodh Protsahan Yojana and freight subsidy schemes had been officially launched. Under Doodh Protsahan Yojana scheme, the farmers registered with private milk cooperatives and selling milk to them would receive an incentive of Rs. 3 per litre, which would be directly credited to their bank accounts through DBT.
The farmers would also receive an instant SMS notification for which a special portal has been developed through HP NIC. Sh. Sukhu said the freight subsidy for milk collected by private cooperatives had been increased from Rs. 1.50 per litre to Rs. 3 per litre, benefiting thousands of farmers.
The milk processing facilities were being expanded through MilkFed. To provide maximum selling opportunities, a campaign to form milk cooperative societies was started in June 2025, and 320 milk cooperatives had been established so far. The government aims to form a milk cooperative in every gram panchayat having significant milk availability.
MLA Sanjay Awasthi thanked the Chief Minister for selecting Arki constituency to launch this scheme. He said that under his leadership, many initiatives had been taken to strengthen the rural economy. The farmers were also getting minimum support price for naturally grown maize, wheat, barley, and raw turmeric. Forest Division, Kunihar contributed Rs. 1 lakh while retired DSP Shakuntala Sharma donated Rs. 51,000 towards the Disaster Relief Fund to the Chief Minister on this occasion.
Health Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Chandra Kumar, MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary, Jogindra Bank Chairman Mukesh Sharma, MilkFed Chairman Budhi Singh Thakur, Wool Federation Chairman Manoj Thakur, former MLA Bambar Thakur were also present on this occasion.