Outcome of Modi's visit - Amul gets an export market for its products in Russia

One of the gains of Modi's visit to Russia is that Amul is getting an export market for its products in Russia. Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) markets brand Amul and it is moving closer to export its dairy products to Russia - this will make it the first Indian dairy major to enter that market.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 29 December 2015.

A top official of GCMMF was in the Indian delegation that accompanied Modi during the visit and, Amul is hopeful that Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor (also known as Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance or FSVPS) - will soon allow imports of dairy products from India by removing 1,000 cows' farm condition.
Russia had evaluated India as their supplier last year, after visits to few Indian dairy plants in November 2014 during which time FSVPS had suggested that only those Indian dairy plants which own more than 1,000 cows shall be approved for export of dairy products to Russia.
This had been objected to by Amul since it was an impractical non-tariff barrier since such a criteria had not been imposed by Russia on any other country from where it imports milk products. Moreover, majority of Indian farmers usually possess 2 to 5 milch animals and there are not more than 2 to 3 farms across the country that have more than 1,000 cows as asked by Russian protocol.
That condition appears to have been removed after the visit of Prime Minister Modi.
Incidentally, while all co-operatives put together currently have an inventory of 50,000 MT milk powder, Amul alone procures 205 lakh litres milk every day.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Let us tread along the Milky Way

Life minus milk is unthinkable – a mother nursing her newborn is the first step one takes into the world of milk. Milk is the raw material necessary to make butter, cheese, ice creams and condensed milk. Pizzas are considered to be incomplete without a generous topping of grated cheese!
India is a bit different. Here, milk is the basic ingredient of innumerable varieties of delicious sweets found from Kolkata to Coimbatore. In the sixties, Dr Kurien and his ‘Operation Flood’ created a revolution of sorts and gave rise to a phenomenon called ‘Amul’! It has, since, become a household name associated with practically all types of preparation involving milk, except, possibly, rosogollas! Gone are the days when the milkman would milk the cow or buffalo right in front you and transfer the fresh warm frothy milk from his bucket to your container. The complete system of storage and distribution of milk has undergone a tremendous change – with pouches being delivered at your doorsteps today along with the newspaper!
One of the simplest of sweet dishes that can be prepared with milk base by anyone is ‘payas’ (in Bengali) and ‘payasam’ (in Malayalam). It is the end product of raw rice being boiled in milk. When the mixture starts to thicken, sugar is added apart from cashew nuts, pistas (pistachios) almonds and kish-mish. Bay leaves and ground cardamom impart a heavenly flavor. The preparation should be allowed to cool to room temperature before serving. This special dish is a must in birthday parties. The Malayalam version adds grated coconut.
Another simple dish takes a great deal of time and patience and is to be attempted only if you have an abundance of both. All you have to do to have a helping of ‘kheer’ is to take about two liters of milk in a large vessel and simmer for at least four hours over a slow flame. After four hours, you have to ensure that it does not start to stick to the walls of the vessel hence you must continuously stir the contents. The final product also should be served when cool. In Bengal there are innumerable moulds made of clay or wood which are used to give attractive shapes. No flavoring agent is necessary because, when two liters of milk is reduced to two hundred grams, it automatically acquires a distinct flavor of its own.
Other popular milk preparations in the North and the East are made from ‘chhana’. This is nothing but milk intentionally curdled by using lime or alum or some sour substance. The curdled mass is drained of all traces of water and used to prepare mouthwatering rosogollas. Recently, the curdled mass is being compressed mechanically and marketed as slabs of paneer. Of course, paneer does not fall in the category of sweets but are used to make tasty wholesome dishes with plenty of spices. Alu paneer, matar paneer and palak paneer, to name a few, taken with tandoori roti or roomali roti are relished by young and old alike.
And, of course, a brief on milk products must make a mention of curd and raita to ensure completeness. These two are Indian version of dessert.