Amul man Kurien is no more

The architect of India's White Revolution Verghese Kurien passed away on Sunday morning at a Nadiad-based hospital.

He was 90 and is survived by his wife and a daughter. Kurien was the founder-chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

Kurien transformed India from a milk-deficient country to world’s largest milk producer after he kicked off “Operation Flood.” 

“Kurien died a natural death due to his age. He was suffering from kidney problems for quite some time and was admitted to hospital in Nadiad. He passed away around 1:15 am today (Sunday),” said R S Sodhi, GCMMF Managing Director.

Expressing shock over his death, Amrita Patel,  NDDB chairman, said: “Promoting and establishing close to a 150,000 village co-operatives, with about 15 million members, and leading India to becoming the world's largest milk producer was no mean feat. These are ever growing testimony to the dream that Kurien pursued, a dream that continues today and that will live as an eloquent memorial to him for years to come.”