In the Amul-ing of Nandini, the Devil Is in the Chronology https://thewire.in/rights/in-the-amuling-of-nandini-the-devil-is-in-the-chronology The co-operative federalism promised by the Modi government has turned into coercive federalism. A look at events since 2019 unravels the real story behind Amul’s expansion to other territories and the penetration of private corporate capital through it.
The state of Karnataka is not adjacent to the state of Gujarat. Nor are there any milk trains between Gujarat and Bengaluru. Hence, unlike other packaged and processed dairy products which have been in the Karnataka market for a long time, the official declaration about the sale of fresh Amul milk and curd in the Bengaluru market has strengthened apprehensions. It has raised serious questions about the real intentions of the Amit Shah-led Ministry of Co-operation, which is systematically facilitating such internal expansion and takeovers one co-operative by the other, completely contrary to the spirit of co-operation itself.
Recent studies suggest that the dairy business in the country amounts to a staggering Rs 15 lakh crores, of which hardly 10% is in the organised sector. Thus, there have been proposals by organised corporate bodies to evolve a hybrid model of business involving private capital and the edifice of the cooperatives. The BJP government after its second electoral victory in 2019, has been accelerating this module in various unorganised and co-operative sectors, to facilitate private capital in reaping maximum profits.
This goes deeper than Amul and Nandini.