Amit Shah lays foundation stone for world's largest curd production plant

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone for what will be the world's largest curd manufacturing plant under the Rs 700-crore Amul Bengal Dairy Project, saying the initiative would strengthen the cooperative movement, raise farmers' incomes and accelerate the vision of "White Revolution 2.0".The plant, coming up at Howrah Food Park in Sankrail, will have the capacity to process 30 lakh litres of milk and produce 10 lakh kilograms of curd and cultured dairy products every day once fully operational. In the first phase, it will process 10 lakh litres of milk daily and is expected to benefit around 1.2 lakh milk-producing livestock rearers across West Bengal, according to agency reports.

VIDEO | Home Minister Amit Shah (@AmitShah) lays foundation stone of world's largest curd production plant in Kolkata.

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Addressing the gathering after performing the Bhoomi Pujan, Shah said the project reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Sahkar Se Samriddhi" and the government's commitment to building a prosperous and self-reliant "Sonar Bangla"."Today is a very important day for the farmers of Bengal. This project will benefit around 1.2 lakh small dairy farmers and cattle rearers," Shah said.The Home Minister said the project became possible after the political change in West Bengal, alleging that the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government had blocked Amul's expansion in the state."We repeatedly requested the then government to allot land so that eastern India's dairy sector could be developed from Bengal. We were told Gujarat would not be allowed to enter the state. But this project is not for Gujarat; it is for the livestock farmers of West Bengal," he said.
Shah thanked the present state government for allotting 30 acres of land free of cost, saying the decision had paved the way for major investments in the state and would help dairy farmers secure better prices for their milk.Expressing confidence in Bengal's dairy potential, Shah said the state's famous mishti doi would now reach households across the country."From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Bengal, the mishti doi made in Bengal will now be enjoyed nationwide," he said.

#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal: Union Home Minister Amit Shah to perform Bhoomi Pujan of the world's largest curd production plant under the Amul Bengal Dairy Project in Kolkata.

He says, "Today, following the victory in the Bengal elections, I have come here on behalf of PM Modi… pic.twitter.com/hfXeh7Tzc6

— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2026

Highlighting the cooperative model, Shah said around Rs 87 out of every Rs 100 spent on Amul products reaches farmers directly. He added that Amul has over 36 lakh women members and more than 18,600 rural dairy cooperative societies.
Shah also announced that the Centre would launch an animal breed improvement programme, including a Sex-Sorted Semen facility, to improve milk productivity in the state. He said more than 70 cooperative sector welfare schemes of the Ministry of Cooperation would be implemented in West Bengal over the next six months.During the event, Shah also inaugurated 10 cooperative warehouses, launched the computerisation of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies' office, and witnessed the signing of an MoU to integrate West Bengal taxis with the Bharat Taxi platform under the 'Sarathi' model, aimed at making taxi drivers stakeholders in the cooperative venture.Shah also laid the foundation stone for 14 storage warehouses with a combined capacity of 1,400 metric tonnes across nine districts.
The Amul Bengal Dairy Project will also produce 10 lakh litres of packaged milk, two lakh litres of UHT milk, one lakh litres of ice cream, 20 metric tonnes of paneer, 10 metric tonnes each of ghee and sweets, and around 2.5 lakh packs of flavoured milk every day.The project is expected to strengthen West Bengal's dairy economy by expanding processing capacity, improving cold-chain infrastructure, generating rural employment and providing dairy farmers with a stable and transparent market for their produce.Shah also accused the previous Left Front and Trinamool Congress (TMC) governments of causing West Bengal's "political decline", saying the state, once a "beacon of light" in education, culture, spirituality and nationalism, had drifted away from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's vision of "Sonar Bangla". Earlier in the day, he chaired a high-level review meeting on the state's law-and-order situation with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and senior police and administrative officials. During his visit, Shah also laid the foundation stone for 14 storage warehouses worth Rs 6 crore with a combined capacity of 1,400 metric tonnes across nine districts.

Later in the day, Shah inaugurated the ‘Museum of Word’ (Shabdalok) at the National Library campus in Alipore, India’s first immersive language museum showcasing the evolution of the country’s 22 official languages, and urged every youth to learn one Indian language in addition to their mother tongue to help preserve India’s linguistic heritage.