I have great pleasure in presenting the special issue of Indian Dairyman brought on the occasion of XXXVII Dairy Industry Conference (DIC) held between February 7-9, 2009, at Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa. Over 1400 delegates from India and abroad attended the Conference.

The sprawling Pavilion and Halls of the Academy were named after veteran past Presidents of Indian Dairy Association: Sir Datar Singh, Dr. P. Bhattacharya, Dr. Z.R. Kothawalla and Dr. K.C.Sen.

The DIC was inaugurated with grandeur and style befitting to the greatest dairy event of this subcontinent. The function began in the morning of February 7, 2009 with the opening of dairy exhibition by H.E. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India. The exhibition housing 70 stalls was arranged at the Dr. P. Bhattacharya pavilion. The exhibitors included SSP, GEA Process Engineering, Nichrome, KK Cans, Emerson Climate Technologies, Gokul Dairy, Goa Dairy, Mahanand Dairy, Amul, Schreiber Dynamix, Tetra Pak, Trepco Micron, GOMA, Virbac Animal Health, Vetcare etc. Dr. Kalam took a round of different stalls to take stock of the magnificent dairy industry of India. Later Dr. Kalam inaugurated the DIC in Sir Datar Singh Hall of Kala Academy.

H.E. Dr. Kalam, in his address, said that during the past six decades, India has become a developed dairying nation. He congratulated the members of Indian Dairy Association both present and past for creating a robust system of dairy management leading to this transition and hoped that in coming years the IDA will undertake proactive steps to further enhance the rate of growth of this industry in the 21st century. He suggested launching of National Milk Vision as a variant of White Revolution to empower the farmers and put India on the high yielding milk map and also bring sustainable development in the rural areas enriching the agriculture, animal husbandry and food processing creating value added employment opportunities to the 60 million families, making a difference in the life of rural citizens. The Session was also addressed by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Digambar Kamat; Hon'ble Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Mr. Pratapsingh Rane and Hon’ble Minister for Home, Cooperation, Women & Child Development and Animal Husbandry, Goa, Mr. Ravi S. Naik.

The highlight of the inaugural session was the Keynote address of Dr. (Miss) Amrita Patel, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board, Anand. In her address, she said, “These are extraordinary times, economies the world over are in crisis. India, however, is fortunate in that it is faring better than the other countries in the world.” She emphasized that both the cooperatives and private players need to ensure that while pursuing plans for growth, we must continue to keep milk producers and their interest central to our concern as the interest of our nation and dairy industry depends on the well being of millions of our landless, small and marginal farmers for whom milk is such a crucial source of livelihood.

The other hallmark of inaugural session was conferring Fellowship on two distinguished scientists and dairy professionals; Dr. K.G. Upadhyay and Dr. T.K. Walli. Dr. Upadhyay was chosen for his contribution to research and teaching in dairy technology, while Dr. Walli had contributed valuable services in furthering the cause of Indian Dairy Association and the dairy industry through teaching, research and development.

For the first time an award “Choudhary Vedram Ji Nagar Award” was instituted jointly by Board Members of Vedram & Sons Pvt. Ltd. (Paras Group) and IDA in memory of Late Shri Vedram Ji Nagar; the legend behind Paras Group. The award implies to honour those who have done extra ordinary technology innovation in the field of animal science or dairy technology having major impact on the development of Indian Dairy Industry. The award consists of a memento and a citation besides a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000. It is heartening that the first recipient of Choudhary Vedram Ji Nagar award was Mr. B.M.Vyas, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Anand for his unmatchable contribution in the progress of dairy industry for the last many years.

On behalf of the Association, I extend heartiest congratulations to all the recipients of the awards and wish them greater success in life.

During XXXVII DIC there were 12 technical sessions, other than Inaugural and Plenary session. 66 eminent speakers gave presentation on different topics underlining the theme of the Conference. The important sessions were CEOs’ Session, Farmers’ Session, Equipment Manufacturers’ Session and a Session on Dairy Development in Goa.

The luminaries who attended and shared their views include Mr. Vinayak Rao Patil, Chairman, National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India; Mr. Parthibhai G. Bhatol, Chairman, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (AMUL); Mr. Ravindra Apte, Chairman, Kolhapur Zilla Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari Sangh Ltd.; Mr. O.P.Saini, Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Rajasthan; Mrs. Shikha Dubey, Managing Director, MP Dugdh Mahasangh, Bhopal; Mr. Sanjeeb Patjoshi, Managing Director, Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation; Mr. R.G. Chandramogan, Chairman, Hatsun Agro Products, Chennai; Mr. Prashant Paricharak, Chairman, Solapur Dudh Sangh and Mr. Neil Prasad, Managing Director, DANISCO, amongst others. Mr. Deepak Tikku, Managing Director, NDDB and Dr. V.V. Sadamate, Advisor (Agriculture), Planning Commission attended DIC on the first day. A special lecture on “Success through Perception Shift” was delivered by Mr. Shyam Taneja. All these exposed the delegates to enhance their knowledge pool.

The Plenary Session was chaired by Dr. A.K.Srivastava, Director, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. Major recommendations arising from various technical sessions were presented by the concerned Chairmen/Rapporteurs of the technical sessions. Besides, best paper awards, best exhibitor awards and best poster awards were also distributed. Fifty-four abstracts from different research papers were displayed.

The other hallmark of the DIC was the exciting cultural evening befitting the traditions and cultures of Goa which was greatly enjoyed and appreciated by the delegates.

The successful implementation of XXXVII DIC once again proved the fact that to achieve the laurels, hard work; dedication and devotion of a committed group and its leadership are essential. It gives me immense pleasure in acknowledging the contribution made by Mr. Arun Patil, Chairman IDA (West Zone); Mr. Arun Narke, Vice President, IDA and Mr. K. Shyju, Secretary General, XXXVII DIC and their group who were directly or indirectly involved in organising the Conference. The support provided by Mr. Madhav Sahakari, Chairman, Goa Milk Union and his officers need a special mention.

My special thanks are to Chairmen, Co-Chairmen, Rapporteurs and Speakers of the various sessions and all the delegates from abroad and different parts of the country, specially milk producers, particularly, women farmers. I am grateful to the national and local media for their overwhelming support in covering various events of XXXVII DIC.

I would be failing in my duty, if I do not extend my special thanks to Hon'ble Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Digambar Kamat; Hon’ble Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Mr. Pratapsingh Rane; Hon’ble Minister for Home, Cooperation, Women & Child Development and Animal Husbandry, Mr. Ravi S. Naik and all those who contributed directly or indirectly to the successful implementation of XXXVII Dairy Industry Conference.