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Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 – 9 September 2012) was an Indian dairying and social entrepreneur. He led initiatives that contributed to the extensive increase in milk production in India termed as the White Revolution.
Kurien graduated in physics from the University of Madras in 1940 and received his masters in mechanical engineering from the Michigan State University in 1947. In 1949, Kurien was sent by the Government of India to run its experimental creamery at Anand, where he set up the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union in 1950 which later became Amul. Amul organised the dairy farmers in the villages as a part of and linked them to the milk consumers directly, eliminating the need for middlemen.
In 1965, Kurien was appointed as the head of the newly formed National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which helped to set up similar cooperatives across India and made dairy farming one of the largest self-sustaining industries and employment generators in rural areas. The dairy cooperatives were successful in increasing the milk production as the dairy farmers controlled the procurement, processing, and marketing as the owners of the cooperative. This led to a multi-fold increase in milk output over the next few decades and helped India become the world's largest milk producer in 1998. The co-operative model was later applied to other agricultural industries in India such as the production of and replicated in other countries.
For his contributions in increasing the dairy output, Kurien is known as the "Father of the White Revolution" in India. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1964 and the World Food Prize in 1989. In 1999, he received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour. He was conferred the Order of Agricultural Merit by the French Government in 1997.
Kurien wanted to join the Indian army as an engineer but instead he worked with Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. Kurien applied for a scholarship provided by the Government of India to study metallurgical engineering but instead received a scholarship to study dairying. He was sent to train at the Imperial Institute of Animal Husbandry in Bangalore before being sent to the United States on a government scholarship. He graduated with a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Michigan State University in 1948. Kurien had stated that though he was sent on a government scholarship to study dairy engineering, he studied metallurgical and nuclear engineering, disciplines which were likely to be of far greater use to the soon-to-be independent India and to himself.
In 1956, Kurien visited Nestle in Switzerland at their invitation but with special instructions from the commerce and industries minister. Nestle was importing milk powder, sugar and other materials required to produce condensed milk in India. Kurien asked Nestle to reduce the imports to India, to try manufacturing condensed milk with buffalo milk procured locally and to engage more Indians in the production process. He was met with a refusal stating that the natives would not be able to handle the technology involved in the condensed milk production. On returning, he increased the production of condensed milk at Amul, the import of which was banned by Government of India two years later. H. M. Dalaya, who studied dairy engineering with Kurien at the US, was persuaded by Kurien to work with him at Anand. He helped develop an indigenous process of making milk powder and condensed milk from buffalo milk, which had a higher proportion of milk solids and increased its economic value. In India, buffalo milk was plentiful while cow milk was in short supply. With the production of condensed milk and baby food from Buffalo milk, Amul competed successfully against Nestle and Glaxo.
The then Commerce minister T T Krishnamachari also cut imports of butter in steps with Kurien promising and delivering an incremental increase of his production to substitute imported butter, especially from New Zealand. During the Sino-Indian War in 1962, production had to be diverted to the Indian armed forces which allowed Polson to gain market share. Kurien lobbied with the government to freeze Polson's production lines, as part of the war effort. Later research by G. H. Wilster led to cheese production from buffalo milk at Amul.
Kurien negotiated with FAO and UNICEF of the United Nations, and the World Bank for aid to develop the cooperatives as a part of "Operation Flood". In the first phase between 1970 and 1979, he focused on choosing the 18 best milk sheds across the country, setting up dairy cooperatives and linking them with nearby major cities, to capture the market there. The Anand model was replicated across Gujarat and Kurien brought all of them under the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) to sell their products under a single Amul brand on the 25th anniversary of establishment. In the second phase between 1979 and 1985, the plan was extended to cover more than 290 towns. In 1979, he established the Institute of Rural Management at Anand for training the managers involved in the milk cooperatives. By 1985, there were about 4.25 million milk producers attached to 43,000 village cooperatives and milk powder production scaled up more than six times.
In 1998, he persuaded then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to appoint Amrita Patel as his successor at NDDB, whom he had groomed under him to protect NDDB's independence from the government. Later, he had differences with her on the policies of Amul. While she was focused on production and yield targets with certain functions such as marketing handed over to private, Kurien felt that the arrangement would weaken the cooperative institutions of the country. He resigned from the position of chairman of GCMMF in 2006 after limited support from the governing board.
In 1979, the Premier of Soviet Union Alexei Kosygin visited Anand and invited Kurien to the Soviet Union. In 1982, Kurien visited Pakistan as a part of a World Bank mission following the request of the Government of Pakistan for aid in setting up dairy cooperatives. Kurien’s work registered interest from other countries like Sri Lanka and Philippines, who wanted him to replicate the cooperative model in their countries. China planned a similar programme based on Kurien’s initiatives. He also served as the chairman of Tribhuvandas Foundation, a non-governmental organization which worked on woman and child health in Kheda district in Gujarat.
| +Awards and honors | ||
| 1963 | Ramon Magsaysay Award | Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation |
| 1965 | Padma Shri | Government of India |
| 1966 | Padma Bhushan | Government of India |
| 1986 | Wateler Peace Prize | Carnegie Foundation |
| 1989 | World Food Prize | World Food Prize Foundation |
| 1997 | Order of Agricultural Merit | Ministry of Agriculture, France |
| 1999 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 2011 | Karmaveer Chakra Award | United Nations and Indian Confederation of NGOs |
Kurien was bestowed with an honorary degree by the Michigan State University in 1965. During the World Dairy Expo in 1993, he was recognized as the International Person of the Year. Kurien was also awarded the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award for social bravery.
Kurien either headed or was on the boards of several public institutions and received honorary doctorate degrees from universities worldwide. The cooperative model pioneered by Kurien is studied in academia with lectures on the same.
Kurien supported the "Amul girl" advertisement campaign, which is one of the longest running campaigns in India and Surabhi, a television series on Indian culture.
In 2013, Amar Chitra Katha published the comic book Verghese Kurien: The man with the billion litre idea.
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