India’s milk production rises to 247 MT in 2025 from 17 MT in 1950

India’s milk production has increased from 17 million tonnes in 1950 to 247 MT in 2025, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), ML Jat, said on Friday.

Jat, a distinguished agronomist, highlighted the role of the dairy sector within the Rs 17.25 lakh crore livestock sector. He said dairy contributes 65 per cent of output and accounts for 16 per cent of India’s gross value added (GVA), supporting 46.1 per cent of the population.

“The Union Budget has allocated Rs 6,153 crore for animal husbandry (up 16 per cent) to recruit 20,000 veterinarians, subsidize colleges/labs and provide cooperative tax relief, powering Viksit Bharat in 2047,” he said, while addressing the 22nd convocation of ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI) at Karnal in Haryana on Friday.

According to an NDRI release, Jat said India’s milk production surged from 17 MT in 1950 to 247 MT in 2025. Uttar Pradesh leads production, while Punjab and Haryana record the highest yields. NITI Aayog has projected milk demand to reach 480-606 MT by 2047.

The release said the share of milk production was the highest from indigenous buffaloes at 31.18 per cent, followed by crossbred cattle at 30.80 per cent. Indigenous cattle accounted for 11.20 per cent, non-descript cattle 9.64 per cent, non-descript buffaloes 11.97 per cent, goat 3.32 per cent and exotic cattle 1.89 percent of total production in the country.

ICAR-NDRI Director Dheer Singh also spoke on the occasion.