National Milk Day 2023: Date, History, Significance And All About Dr Verghese Kurian

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala will confer the National Gopal Ratna Awards on November 26 at Veterinary College Ground, Guwahati, Assam.

Assam CM Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan will also be present in the award ceremony.

Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is organizing National Gopal Ratna Award 2023 as a part of National Milk Day celebration 2023. 

National Gopal Ratna Award is one of the highest National Awards in the field of livestock and dairy sector, with an objective to recognize and encourage all individuals like Farmers rearing indigenous animals, AI Technicians and Dairy cooperative societies / Milk Producer Company/Dairy farmers Producers Organizations working in this sector.

The Award is conferred in three categories, namely,

1. Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/buffalo Breeds,

2. Best Dairy Cooperative/Milk Producer Company/Dairy Farmer Producer Organization).

3. Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT)

The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for 1st rank, Rs 3 lakh for 2 rank and Rs 2 lakh for 3rd rank along with a Certificate of merit and a memento in first two categories i.e Best Dairy Farmer and Best DCS / FPO/ MPCs.

In case of the Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) category, the National Gopal Ratna Award-2023 will consist of a Certificate of merit and a memento only.

The applications were invited through the online application portal i.e. https://awards.gov.in developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) from 15.08.2023 to 15.10.2023. A total of 1770 applications were received.

Dr Kurien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to bring prosperity in their favour. In his service of over fifty years he attained 15 honorary degrees from different institutions of the world as he believed that learning should never stop.

His enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into possible won him many accolades such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), Krishi Ratna Award (1986), World Food prize (1989), Padma Vibhushan (1999) and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country gave him was the title “Milkman of India”.

After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards serving the nation Dr Verghese Kurien breathed his last on 9 September 2012 due to brief illness at Anand.