NCDFI and Indian Army Extend Four-Decade Dairy Partnership
The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) and the Indian Army reaffirmed their procurement arrangement at a Cooperative Conclave on Dairy-Defence Partnership in Anand, Gujarat. The agreement connects dairy cooperatives with military supply operations and includes procurement from border districts and India’s North-Eastern region.
NCDFI said the partnership involved 117 member cooperatives during the 2025–26 operating year. Contracted volumes comprised 18.48 crore litres of fresh liquid milk and 4.11 crore litres of ultra-high-temperature milk, giving a combined total of 22.60 crore litres. The contract value for the year was ₹1,627 crore.
The institutional arrangement was established in 1984. Dr Meenesh Shah, chairman of NCDFI and the National Dairy Development Board, said it provides defence establishments with supply lines, gives cooperatives institutional buyers and supports regular returns for dairy farmers.
Ten cooperatives operating in frontier areas supplied 6.44 crore litres of fresh milk directly to 196 Army units in 2025–26. The military said that expanding organised collection in these areas had also supported local employment, cold-chain infrastructure and rural livelihoods. Small producers in isolated districts often have limited access to commercial markets.
UHT milk continues to be used in locations without adequate refrigeration. Defence transport officials called for more fresh milk to be sourced locally where processing facilities and cold-chain arrangements allow it. The conclave identified product-specific capacity assessments, digital demand forecasting, additional cold-storage facilities and more sustainable transport as priorities for that shift.
NCDFI said direct procurement channels between cooperatives and defence logistics centres reduce the role of intermediaries while maintaining food-safety requirements. The expansion of local processing capacity is intended to allow military bases to reduce reliance on milk transported over long distances without affecting food safety or operational readiness.
