Innovation and value addition need of time: PM Modi in Anand

ANI  |  Anand (Gujarat) [India] 

on Sunday stressed upon the significance of innovation and value addition while addressing a public gathering here on Sunday.

was in Anand to inaugurate a number of modern facilities worth Rs 1100 crore, including Amul's ultra-modern chocolate plant and Anand Agricultural Univesity's incubation centre-cum-centre of excellence in He also inaugurated a solar cooperative society at Mujhkuva village and laid the foundation stone for the expansion of Amul manufacturing facilities at Anand and Khatraj.

Talking further about the importance of the cooperative sector in helping the farmers of Gujarat, said, "Not only Amul, people in North also worked in the cooperative sector. We have the Banas Dairy, the Dudhsagar Dairy. All these endeavours helped the people of Gujarat, particularly the farmers. For a long time, we had people sitting in Gandhinagar who disliked the cooperatives. They prevented the sector from acquiring a foothold in Saurashtra. Things changed after the late 1990s and today almost all districts in are doing well in the sector."

Emphasizing on the global brand value of Amul, Prime Minister Modi also termed it as an outstanding model of empowerment.

He said, "The brand of Amul is known worldwide. Today, Amul has become an inspiration across the globe. People from overseas also ask me about Amul. Amul is not only about This is an excellent model of empowerment."

He also underscored the need of exploring possibilities with the camel milk.

"A long time back, I had gone to Kutch and spoken about the need to popularise camel milk. That time a group of people mocked me. But, today the camel milk chocolate of Amul is doing well. We are doing well in but we can do even better. And, I am sure if Amul thinks in this direction, it will surely happen even faster", he said.

Talking about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's most important contribution in the field of cooperative development, Prime Minister Modi said, "In various parts of the world, at various times we saw what socialism is, we also saw capitalism. But, through Amul, showed another way. Here is a way where neither Government nor industrialists call the shots. It is the people who matter. This is a unique model."

"A century ago, entered civic politics of Ahmedabad. He won from Dariapur. His margin of victory then was 1 vote. When he assumed office as the of the municipality, he laid emphasis on urban development, planning and in that he worked on cooperative housing. Guided by Sardar Patel, worked on cooperative housing in a big way in Ahmedabad. These efforts gave wings to the aspirations of several people," he added.

Prime Minister Modi also hailed the spirit of team Amul.

"We are focusing on Jan Dhan, and This will help our farmers. In a few years, Amul will complete 75 years. This is a team that is unstoppable. I admire their spirit. Let us think about what targets Amul can set for their own 75th anniversary and for 2022 when marks 75 years of freedom."

He also requested more dairies to work towards 'sweet revolution' and said, "I told several dairies in to also work on the sweet revolution, which is related to honeybees. I am aware that Banas Dairy and the dairy in Amreli have done commendable work in this direction. I urge more dairies to also devote attention to this."

In his one day visit to the state, the Prime Minister will also travel to Anjar where he will inaugurate the Mundra LNG terminal, the Anjar-Mundra pipeline project and the Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, September 30 2018. 15:01 IST