Tamil Nadu: Aavin created an app to provide information about milk producers in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Dairy Development Minister T Mano Thangaraj informed the Assembly on Saturday that a real-time profiling of milk producers, their animals, milk production, fodder availability and more will be conducted through an Android mobile application.

During the discussion on the demand for grants for dairy development, Thangaraj emphasised that data on milk producers and other details are essential for taking better decisions.

Elaborating on steps taken to increase milk procurement, he said upon completion of the ongoing plant upgrade works in Chennai and various district unions, Aavin’s milk handling capacity will increase from the current 47.5 lakh litre to 66 lakh litre a day in the next few years.

“Aavin facilitated the purchase of 22,360 cows through loans from nationalised banks at a subsidised interest rate of 9% instead of the regular 15%. Cooperative societies have provided interest-free loans totalling Rs 123 crore. Additionally, there are one lakh more applications pending for buying new milch cows,” Thangaraj said.

Responding to a query on preserving native breeds of bulls, Thangaraj said, “If youngsters are interested in rearing indigenous bull breeds, the department is ready to mentor them, facilitate loans, and provide training.”

He also announced that 500 bulk milk coolers with automatic milk collection system software and cloud connectivity will be installed to monitor milk arrival, quality and dispatch, providing spot acknowledgment.

Thangaraj dded that the system will be implemented at 600 milk producers’ cooperative societies in Pudukottai, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Vellore, Tirupattur, Thanjavur, Dindigul, Villupuram and Kallakurich district unions.