Aspirant Academy
ENHI

RAS question

Which of the following correctly describes the 'Anand Pattern' in the context of India's dairy sector?

Correct answer: (B) A three-tier cooperative structure of village primary cooperatives, district unions, and state federations, pioneered by Dr. Verghese Kurien through Amul.

The Anand Pattern in India's dairy sector is a three-tier cooperative structure of village dairy cooperative societies, district milk unions and state federations, associated with Amul and Dr. Verghese Kurien's cooperative-led dairy model.

  1. (A)

    A government-owned milk procurement scheme under the Ministry of Animal Husbandry

  2. (B)

    A three-tier cooperative structure of village primary cooperatives, district unions, and state federations, pioneered by Dr. Verghese Kurien through Amul

  3. (C)

    A Central Government scheme for providing subsidised milk to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households

  4. (D)

    A private franchise model for setting up dairy processing plants across rural India

Explanation

The Anand Pattern is not a government procurement scheme or a private franchise; it is an integrated cooperative system for procuring, processing and marketing milk. NDDB describes its core as farmer-owned and farmer-controlled institutions supported by professional management, with producers taking business decisions through cooperatives. Its three tiers are the village dairy cooperative society, where milk producers join and pour milk; the district cooperative milk producers' union, which buys societies' milk and processes and markets milk and products; and the state federation, which markets the milk and products of member unions. This cooperative model is linked to Anand, Gujarat, Amul, Dr. Verghese Kurien and Operation Flood's dairy transformation.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) It is wrong because the Anand Pattern is a cooperative structure owned and controlled by producers, not a government-owned milk procurement scheme under a ministry.
  • (C) It is wrong because the model concerns cooperative procurement, processing and marketing of milk, not a Central Government subsidy programme for BPL households.
  • (D) It is wrong because NDDB frames the Anand Pattern around farmer-owned cooperatives and elected producer leadership, not private franchising of dairy plants.

Concept

This tests the cooperative-institution model behind India's dairy development, especially how village, district and state-level bodies are linked. It recurs in RAS because dairy cooperatives, Operation Flood and producer-led rural development connect science, agriculture and economy topics.

Source

Related questions