Amul, India's largest dairy cooperative, is making a landmark ₹700-crore investment in West Bengal with the foundation stone laid for a massive integrated dairy plant at Sankrail, Howrah. This project, set to be Amul's biggest investment to date, will strengthen its ties with 1.25 lakh dairy farmers and significantly advance the state's food processing sector. The advanced facility will possess the capacity to process 30 lakh liters of milk daily, package 10 lakh liters of liquid milk, and convert an additional two lakh liters into long-life milk. Furthermore, it will manufacture a diverse range of products including paneer, ghee, sweets, flavored milk, and ice cream, crucially featuring the world's largest unit for producing 1,000 metric tons of curd and cultured dairy products per day. The initiative is deeply rooted in Amul's successful cooperative model, designed to offer farmers transparent procurement, fair pricing, and assured market access, thereby fostering a more robust rural economy. The project is anticipated to generate considerable employment across various stages of the dairy value chain, from collection to distribution, with a particular focus on empowering women in dairy farming. This substantial investment signifies a major stride in West Bengal's industrial development, aiming for sustainable livelihoods through integrated growth of agriculture and manufacturing.

Amul, India's largest dairy cooperative, is making a landmark ₹700-crore investment in West Bengal with the foundation stone laid for a massive integrated dairy plant at Sankrail, Howrah. This project, set to be Amul's biggest investment to date, will strengthen its ties with 1.25 lakh dairy farmers and significantly advance the state's food processing sector. The advanced facility will possess the capacity to process 30 lakh liters of milk daily, package 10 lakh liters of liquid milk, and convert an additional two lakh liters into long-life milk. Furthermore, it will manufacture a diverse range of products including paneer, ghee, sweets, flavored milk, and ice cream, crucially featuring the world's largest unit for producing 1,000 metric tons of curd and cultured dairy products per day. The initiative is deeply rooted in Amul's successful cooperative model, designed to offer farmers transparent procurement, fair pricing, and assured market access, thereby fostering a more robust rural economy. The project is anticipated to generate considerable employment across various stages of the dairy value chain, from collection to distribution, with a particular focus on empowering women in dairy farming. This substantial investment signifies a major stride in West Bengal's industrial development, aiming for sustainable livelihoods through integrated growth of agriculture and manufacturing.

Amul, India's largest dairy cooperative, is making a landmark ₹700-crore investment in West Bengal with the foundation stone laid for a massive integrated dairy plant at Sankrail, Howrah. This project, set to be Amul's biggest investment to date, will strengthen its ties with 1.25 lakh dairy farmers and significantly advance the state's food processing sector. The advanced facility will possess the capacity to process 30 lakh liters of milk daily, package 10 lakh liters of liquid milk, and convert an additional two lakh liters into long-life milk. Furthermore, it will manufacture a diverse range of products including paneer, ghee, sweets, flavored milk, and ice cream, crucially featuring the world's largest unit for producing 1,000 metric tons of curd and cultured dairy products per day. The initiative is deeply rooted in Amul's successful cooperative model, designed to offer farmers transparent procurement, fair pricing, and assured market access, thereby fostering a more robust rural economy. The project is anticipated to generate considerable employment across various stages of the dairy value chain, from collection to distribution, with a particular focus on empowering women in dairy farming. This substantial investment signifies a major stride in West Bengal's industrial development, aiming for sustainable livelihoods through integrated growth of agriculture and manufacturing.

India's largest dairy cooperative, Amul, is making its biggest investment yet in West Bengal with a ₹700-crore integrated dairy plant at Sankrail in Howrah district. The initiative will strengthen its partnership with 1.25 lakh dairy farmers while giving a major fillip to the state's food processing sector.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the Amul Bengal Dairy project at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town, Kolkata. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, will build the plant at the Food Park in Sankrail.

Once operational, it will process 30 lakh litres of milk a day, package 10 lakh litres of liquid milk and convert another two lakh litres into long-life milk. The integrated complex will also manufacture paneer, ghee, sweets, flavoured milk and ice cream. At its heart will be a unit capable of producing 1,000 metric tonnes (MT) of curd and cultured dairy products every day—the largest of its kind in the world.

A cooperative model for growth

The investment is as much about farmers as it is about manufacturing. Built on Amul's cooperative model, it seeks to connect milk producers with organised markets through transparent procurement and fair pricing. The same farmer-owned model powered Gujarat's White Revolution in the 1970s, eliminating intermediaries and ensuring that a larger share of the value reached producers.

“West Bengal has immense potential in the dairy sector," Shah said, adding that the cooperative network would provide farmers with assured market access and better returns for their milk while strengthening the rural economy.

During his address, Shah also praised Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's responsiveness and pace of decision-making, remarking that it was "difficult to match Suvendu's speed" and recalling how quickly he responded whenever the Centre reached out. Shah linked this to what he described as the benefits of a "double-engine government" in accelerating infrastructure and industrial projects.

The event, however, also sparked political debate, with Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh posting media clippings on social media claiming that the dairy project had been initiated during the previous Trinamool Congress government and was now being implemented by the present administration.

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah attend the Bhoomi Pujan and laid the foundation stone for the Amul Bengal Dairy Project at Sankrail in the presence of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at Biswa Bangla Convention center in Kolkata | Salil Bera

Amul already procures nearly nine lakh litres of milk every day from around 1.25 lakh dairy farmers across West Bengal, including almost 30,000 women. The Sankrail plant will add manufacturing to that network, enabling milk collected in the state to be processed into a wide range of branded dairy products closer to the source.

The expansion is expected to generate employment across milk collection, transportation, cold-chain logistics, processing, packaging and distribution, while creating a more stable market for producers. Women, who play a key role in dairy farming, are also expected to benefit from greater participation in organised cooperatives.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described the investment as a milestone for West Bengal's industrial development, saying agriculture and manufacturing must grow together to create sustainable livelihoods. He also urged Amul to establish ice cream manufacturing units in North Bengal and South Bengal to spread jobs and investment beyond a single location.

The ceremony was attended by GCMMF Chairman Ashokbhai B. Chaudhary and Amul Dairy Chairman Subhesinh Mangabhai Parmar, who honoured Shah with a framed portrait of Goddess Kali and a traditional Bengali uttario, a ceremonial stole presented as a mark of respect.

For GCMMF, the Sankrail investment underscores West Bengal's growing importance in its national expansion strategy. For the state, it brings the prospect of stronger farmer incomes, a larger dairy value chain and a cooperative model that has already transformed milk production in other parts of the country. If replicated successfully, Bengal's biggest dairy investment could deliver benefits well beyond the factory gates.

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