BIOGRAPHY OF DR.VEGHESE KURIEN

By,

Della Antony

DR. VERGHESE KURIEN (26nov,1921-9sep,2012)

founder of AMUL

INTRODUCTIONArchitect of dairy development.

"Father of the white revolution” in India, never drank milk himself! .

He is known as “Milkman Of India”.

Fonder of Amul milk Pvt. Ltd.

Ex chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF).

Ex chairman of the NDDB.

Ex chairman of the IRMA.

Dr. Norman Borlaug has called him “one of the world’s great agricultural leaders of this century”.

EARLY LIFEBorn on Nov 26, 1921 to an affluent syrian christian

family in calicut , kerala.

His father puthenparakkal Kurien was civil surgeon in British cochin & his mother was a highly educated women as well as exceptional piano player.

He was named as his uncle Rao Sahib P. K. Verghese.

EDUCATIONHe did his schooling at Diamond Jubilee Higher Secondary school in

Gobichettipalayam.

He graduated in physics from Loyola college, Madras in 1940 and obtained his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the college of engineering Gundy affiliated to Madras university.

He Completed special studies in engineering at the Tata Iron and Steel Company Institute at Jamshedpur, in 1946.

During this period he underwent 9 months of specialized training in dairy engineering at the National Dairy Research Institute of Banglore.

Then he went to USA on government scholarship to do his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University.

CAREER

He returned from America in 1948 and joined the Dairy Department of the Government of India. In May 1949, he was posted as Dairy Engineer at the Government Research Creamery, in Anand, Gujarat.

Kurien initially found his job very uninspiring but was amazing by the way the milk distributors and farmers were exploited by the cunning and rich businessmen.

There was one person, Tribhuvandas Patel, who was trying his best to unite the farmers in order to form a cooperative movement and fight against the exploitation. Kurien was greatly inspired by this man and decided to join him.

Conti…………..

Patel succeeded in forming a cooperative Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited (KDCMPUL) but faced immense pressure from a competing dairy business, the privately owned Polson Dairy.

Driven by the challenge, Kurien left his government job and volunteered to help Sri Tribhuvandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL, to build an in-house processing plant and organize the cooperative (AMUL) to handle its own marketing directly to consumers.

The KDCMPUL soon came to be known as ‘Amul Dairy’ which played a very significant role in India’s White Revolution.

Conti……………

H.M.Dalaya, a friend of Kurien and a dairy expert, invented a method of making milk powder and condensed milk from buffalo milk. It revolutionized the Indian dairy industry as till that point such processed items could be made only with cow’s milk.

The Amul Dairy was so successful that the model was soon replicated in several other neighboring districts in Gujarat.

Kurien’s work in Amul was so groundbreaking that the then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965 to expand the cooperative program to all corners of the country. Kurien was named Chairman of the organization.

Conti………….

In order to better manage the cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) was set up in 1973.

In 1979, he helped to found the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) which was based on the philosophy that effective rural development is possible only through professional management.

PERSONAL LIFE

He wife is Mrs.Molly Kurien.

They had daughter Mrs. Nirmala Kurien.

He died on 9 september 2012.

His wife Molly died on 14 December 2012.

QUALITIES Clarity of vision and ability to share it with others .

Real passion and pride in what they believe .

Ability to inspire and motivate others.

Willingness to take risks.

Lateral thinking and ability to find innovative ideas and solutions to problems.

Positive attitude at all times and an innate ability to be diplomatic in any circumstances .

Respect for all (team members, temps, customers, suppliers and directors alike).

Clear standards of ethics and integrity; openness and honesty.

Ability to drive, inspire and embrace change and continuous improvement.

IDEOLOGYI am like a cat, throw me wherever you want to, I will land on my feet.. ” “ Eight hours for dairy, eight hours for your family and eight hours for sleep ” “ My philosophy in life is to do as much good as I can to those who are less fortunate, But I would like to live my life as a common man ”

Quotes Dr. Kurien…

VIEW ABOUT MILK PRODUCERS

Kurien's professional life has been dedicated to empowering millions of humble Indian milk producers.

He saw an economic resource and potential at the bottom of the pyramid.

''Without their involvement, we cannot succeed. With their

involvement, we cannot fail...‘’

ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS 1963 - Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.

1965 - Padma Shri (gov. of India).

1966 - Padma Bhushan (gov. of India).

1986 - Krishi Ratna Award (by gov. of India).

1986 - Wateler Peace Prize Award (of Carnegie Foundation ).

1989 - World Food Prize Laureate (World Food Prize USA).

1993 - International Person of the Year (World Dairy Expo USA).

1999 - Padma Vibhushan (gov. of India).

2007 - Karmaveer Puraskaar by iCONGO- Confederation of NGOs.

The committee of Agricultural Leadership Awards 2008 has honored Verghese

Kurien with the lifetime achievement award.

LITERARY WORK

Kurien, Verghese (2005) I Too Had a Dream. APH Publishing Corp.

Kurien, Verghese (1997) An Unfinished Dream. Tata Mcwaw Hill.

Kurien, Verghese , The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance.

NATIONAL MILK DAY – NOV 26

Every year 26 November is being observed as National Milk Day (NMD) to mark birth anniversary of Dr.Verghes Kurien.

Tkank You

“utterly butterly delicious”