Anand

June 18th, 2009 |

Author: admin

Anand (Gujarati: આણંદ, IPA: [äɽ̃ən̪d̪]) is the administrative centre of Anand District in the state of Gujarat, India. It is administered by Anand Municipality. It is part of the region known as Charotar comprise of Anand & Kheda Districts. Anand is growing at very rapid rate…

Anand is known as the Milk Capital of India. It became famous for Amul dairy and its milk revolution. This city hosts the National Dairy Development Board of India and Anand Agricultural University. Another well-known product of the city is Vallabh Vidhyanagar, an educational suburb of Anand.

Anand lies between Ahmedabad and Vadodara on the Western Railway. It is a railway Junction and a Rail Line from here runs to Godhra, covering Dakor, a major Hindu pilgrimage en route. The National express highway from Ahmedabad to Vadodara also passes through Anand.

Anand has seen rapid economic growth along the Anand Vallabh Vidya Nagar road belt. It is well on track to becoming a Municipal Corporation with the inclusion of various peripheral villages like Chikhodra, Lambhvel, V. V Nagar, Bakrol, Karamsad, Mogri and others.

Geography

Anand is located at 22°34′N 72°56′E / 22.57°N 72.93°E / 22.57; 72.93.^[1] It has an average elevation of 39 metres (127 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Anand had a population of 5,00,462. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Anand has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5% (55% of the males and 45% of females literate). 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Amul

Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited), formed in 1946, is a dairy cooperative movement in India. It is a brand name managed by an apex cooperative organisation, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by some 2.6 million milk producers in Gujarat, India^[3].

AMUL is based in Anand town of Gujarat and has been a sterling example of a co-operative organization’s success in the long term. It is one of the best examples of co-operative achievement in the developing world. “Anyone who has seen … the dairy cooperatives in the state of Gujarat, especially the highly successful one known as AMUL, will naturally wonder what combination of influences and incentives is needed to multiply such a model a thousand times over in developing regions everywhere.”^[4] The Amul Pattern has established itself as a uniquely appropriate model for rural development. Amul has spurred the White Revolution of India, which has made India the largest producer of milk and milk products in the world. It is also the world’s biggest vegetarian cheese brand ^[5].

Amul is the largest food brand in India and world’s Largest Pouched Milk Brand with an annual turnover of US $1050 million (2006-07) ^[6]. Currently Amul has 2.6 million producer members with milk collection average of 10.16 million litres per day. Besides India, Amul has entered overseas markets such as Mauritius, UAE, USA, Bangladesh, Australia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and a few South African countries. Its bid to enter Japanese market in 1994 had not succeeded, but now it has fresh plans of flooding the Japanese markets ^[7]. Other potential markets being considered include Sri Lanka.

Dr Verghese Kurien, former chairman of the GCMMF, is recognised as the man behind the success of Amul. On 10 Aug 2006 Parthi Bhatol, chairman of the Banaskantha Union, was elected chairman of GCMMF.

Dr Kurien lead the NDDB(National Dairy Development Board) for cooperative movement of dairy and established IRMA ( Institute of Rural Managememt Anand)which is one of the best rural management institute of India.