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Amar Chitra Katha's new title on inspirational story of Dr. Verghese Kurien

Amar Chitra Katha stories are known to be an inspiration for younger audience and their latest title on Verghese Kurien-The Man with the 'Billion-Litre' Idea is another addition to this category. A part of Amar Chitra Katha's graphic biographic series on visionaries, Verghese Kurien, is a story of inspiration and excellence about the genius behind Amul and the success of milk cooperatives in India. Targeting the young adults in the age group 10 - 15 and above, Amar Chitra Katha's new title narrates the story of an inspiring role model from Indian heritage.

The comic book was launched at the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) Auditorium in Anand by Ms. Nirmala Kurien, daughter of late Dr. Verghese Kurien on 26th November, 2013, in the presence of Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director - GCMMF, Ms. Reena Puri, Editor of Amar Chitra Katha, Mr. Vijay Sampath, CEO ACK Media, Prof. Jeemol Unni – Director-IRMA, Shri Regi Oommen, Principal – Anandalaya School. The Students of Class X & XI – Anandalaya and their teachers, IRMA Students & Faculty Members, Employees of GCMMF, invitees from NDDB, Amul Dairy, NCDFI, etc. attended the function.

"The inspirational life of Verghese Kurien is the story of visionary and his unshakeable belief in the primacy of human development as the foundation of a progressive nation. He was a pioneer, a far sighted entrepreneur and a disciplined man with a broad vision.  There could be no better time than his 92nd birth anniversary, to launch this new Amar Chitra Katha title", said Mr. Vijay Sampath, CEO, ACK Media during the launch event.

"The sheer enormity of Dr. Kurien's monumental achievements is truly amazing. He is one of the few nation-builders who contributed immensely towards shaping the future of post-independence India. His remarkable life and achievements are an embodiment of his faith in the ability of the common man to exercise control over his destiny.  This faith helped him to create world-class Institutions that become shining examples of excellence. Father of 'White Revolution' in India; doyen of dairy cooperative movement; institution-builder par excellence who ushered in a socio-economic revolution in rural India, Dr. Verghese Kurien has been instrumental in transforming the lives of 15 million farmer families across the country", said Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF.

"Dr. Verghese Kurien is one of the most important role models from modern India. He worked tirelessly to empower people from rural markets and make them self-sufficient. He put India on top of the world in milk production. When we started writing his story it was a difficult task trying to edit all his achievements and doing justice to this great man. Dr Kurien's daughter, Nirmala, and R. S. Sodhi, Managing Director of GCCMF gave us a lot of support, in terms of reading material, photographs and information. It has been a learning experience for the team and we hope that through this graphic biography we are able to tell the story in a way that is inspirational to young people" said Ms. Reena Puri, Editor, Amar Chitra Katha.

A graphic biography of 32 pages, AmarChitra Katha's new title, VergheseKurien-The Man with the ‘Billion-Litre' Idea traces the story of late Verghes Kurien when he stepped down from the train on to the dusty platform in Anand, Gujarat. A true visionary who not only changed his destiny but that of thousands of small, marginalized farmers who, until then, had only known exploitation and deprivation. A die-hard patriot, Kurien was committed to the co-operative cause. He put the milk industry in the hands of the farmers, believing firmly that with ownership comes responsibility and great success. He also believed in the empowerment of women so that entire families progressed and became economically secure. The story of Dr Kurien is the story of Amul. It is the story of Operation Flood, the 'billion-litre idea' that set India on the top of the world map for milk production

"My father, Dr. VergheseKurien always said that true development is the development of men and women. Through the dairy cooperative movement, which my father championed throughout his life, he helped our farmers to obtain a steady source of income, enabling them to improve their standard of living.  His relentless hard work has helped to generate gainful employment for the most vulnerable section of our population including small and marginal farmers, landless laborers and rural women. It is largely thanks to the efforts of Dr. Verghese Kurien that women of rural India have some measure of economic independence, through dairying," said Ms. Nirmala Kurien, daughter of Dr. Verghese Kurien.

Shri R S Sodhi, MD-GCMMF, receives prestigious QIMPRO GOLD STANDARD Quality Award 2013

Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director of GCMMF, was conferred QIMPRO GOLD STANDARD AWARD 2013 (Business), one of the most prestigious quality awards in India, for implementing world-class quality practices in AMUL and achieving outstanding performance results. Shri R S Sodhi received this highly prestigious award in a glittering ceremony in Mumbai, on 22nd November.

Recognized as the country’s premier quality citations, QIMPRO Awards was conceptualized in 1989 by Dr. J. M. Juran, the Quality Guru, to recognize individual excellence in quality management. The awards commenced by recognizing outstanding leaders and facilitators in business, with the Qimpro Gold Standard. The winners are selected by three eminent panels of judges; chaired by the award recipient of the previous year. Eminent luminaries who have honored with this award in the past include Shri Naresh Goyal, Chairman Jet Airways, Shri Sunil Mittal, Chairman Bharti Enterprises and Shri Rajiv Bajaj, MD Bajaj Auto.

Accepting the award, Shri R S Sodhi stated that this prestigious quality citation was recognition of the wisdom and efforts of dairy farmers of Gujarat who have always insisted on excellence and adherence to the highest standards of quality in Amul’s entire value chain. Shri Sodhi stated "I humbly accept this award on behalf of 3.2 million farmers of Gujarat whom I serve and whose unwavering commitment towards excellence in every dimension of Amul is reflected in this ecognition". Shri Sodhi also mentioned that this award revalidated his staunch belief in the values of integrity, honesty, courage, dedication, commitment to farmers and to consumers, as well as commitment towards excellence, which his mentor, Dr. Verghese Kurien, had instilled in AMUL.

Shri Sodhi emphasizes that at Amul, quality was a way of life and that the organization made all efforts to ensure that everything at Amul reflects excellence. For Amul, quality is defined as achieving excellence in every dimension on consistent basis. Shri R S Sodhi also took this opportunity to thank the millions of loyal customers of Amul whose trust and faith in the iconic brand has inspired the organization to continuously strive for excellence.

Dr. V Kurien's bust & dedicated website unveiled by Ms. Nirmala Kurien

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(Left to Right) : Shri Moghabhai Desai, Chairman-Vasudhary Dairy, Shri Ramsinhbhai Parmar, Chairman-Amul Dairy, Shri Vipulbhai Chaudhary, Chairman-GCMMF, Shri Sidddharth, Ms. Nirmala Kurien and Shri R S Sodhi, MD-GCMMF.

It has been a year since the legendary Dr. Verghese Kurien, Father of White Revolution in India, took the Milky Way to heaven. His ideals and values continue to be a great source of comfort, guidance, courage and inspiration for millions of dairy farmers of Gujarat as well as India and thousands of young Indian citizens, who with great pride have dedicated their lives to serve the underprivileged sections of our society.

On the occasion of the first death anniversary of Dr. V Kurien, Ms Nirmala Kurien unveiled the bust of Dr. Verghese Kurien and also launched special dedicated website www.drkurien.com at Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., Anand.

On this occasion, Ms Nirmala Kurien told that “My father was in the business of developing people and milk was the only tool, as he believed in empowering the farmers.” GCMMF Chairman Shri Vipul Chaudhary said ”The contribution of Dr. Verghese Kurien towards the socio-economic upliftment of the life of milk producers was immense. He also insisted that Dr Kurien should be honored with the Bharat Ratna.” Shri R S Sodhi, Managing Director-GCMMF also added that “If Bharat Ratna was conferred for Dr V Kurien, it would be a great honor for dairy farmers of India”.

The function was attended by GCMMF board of directors, top officials and employees of GCMMF.

Amul is now a 3.2 Billion USD Co-operative

Amul in accelerated expansion mode to take full advantage of golden phase

GCMMF which markets the extremely popular Amul brand of milk and dairy products is certainly going through a golden phase with simultaneous acceleration in demand and supply.Results of the apex body of dairy cooperatives in Gujarat were declared on 25th June 2013, in the 39th Annual General Meeting of GCMMF.The organization which symbolizes ‘taste of India’,managed to achieve unprecedented 20% growth in milk procurement during the year 2012-13.In fact, GCMMF set new records during year, demonstrating its ability to procure and successfully handle as much as 16.6 million Kgs of milk during peak days of flush winter months.Leveraging on several marketing and technological innovations as well as enhanced distribution reach , GCMMF closed the year with a turnover of Rs. 13735 crores, which is 18% higher than the turnover of Rs. 11668 crores,achieved in 2011-12.This is an extremely impressive growth, especially since this achievement is over and above consistent 20% cumulative average growth rate over the last 5 years.In fact, the group turnover of GCMMF and its constituent Member Unions, representing unduplicated turnover of all products sold under Amul brand was Rs. 19,100 crores or US$ 3.2 Billion.

The high growth in turnover is reflected in the remarkable performance of its various mega-brands.GCMMF achieved excellent growth in most of the value -added consumer packs. During 2012-13,Amul long-life UHT Milkhad shown an impressive value growth of 53% and sales of Amul Cream also increased by 57% in value terms. Amul’s innovative milk beverages range showed quantum value growth of 27%.In Ghee, their two mega-brands Amul & Sagar together achieved very impressive growth of 31% in value terms.Sales of Amul Butter and Amul Cheese achieved impressive 18% & 19% value growth respectively.Amul Ice-cream has created one more milestone with value growth of 21% over last year, further consolidating its position as No.1 Ice cream brand in India.

While commenting on the results, Shri Vipulbhai M Chaudhary, Chairman, GCMMF paid rich tribute to late Dr. Verghese Kurien and stated that the Amul has been able to scale such magnificent heights only thanks to Dr. Kurien, who dedicated his entire life towards championing the cause of farmers.He urged leaders and professionals associated with Amul cooperative movement to continue to adhere to the values of integrity, selflessness, excellence and courage, which were cherished by Dr.Kurien.

Shri Chaudhary also informed that ‘rapid expansion’ will be the organization’s mantra for 2013-14.This enormous growth in milk production was a result of high procurement price paid to farmers,which increased by quantum margin of 63% in the last 4 years. Better returns from dairying have obviously motivated farmers to enhance their investments in increasing milk production.He also informed that GCMMF has planned rapid expansion across its entire value chain.“Various Member Unions are expanding their respective processing and manufacturing capacities.Simultaneously,GCMMF is also swiftly expanding and strengthening its four distribution highways to ensure that our products reach our loyal consumers in remotest corners of the country”,said the Chairman. He emphasized that during 2012-13, Amul expanded its distribution footprint to reach 1200 new geographical markets with addition of 306 new distributors, 65 new Super-stockists and 900 new sub-stockists. Plan for 2013-14 includes further expanding distribution reach to 700 new markets with addition of more distributors and Super-stockists.In fact, the organization plans to add seven new branch offices within the next few months.Amul further consolidated its status as the largest single brand retail in the country by adding at least 3 exclusive Amul Parlors every day during 2012-13, taking the total tally of its exclusive stores to 7000. This includes 800 air-conditioned Amul Ice-cream scooping parlours. GCMMF plans to increase Amul Parlor network to 10,000 within next 2 years.

Shri Chaudhary further informed that GCMMF plans to achieve turnover of Rs. 17000 crores in the year 2013-14.He expressed confidence that GCMMF will one day fulfill its destiny of becoming the largest dairy organization in the entire world and center of gravity for global dairy industry.

33rd Hoshin Kanri Meeting

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GCMMF conducted its 33^rd Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) meeting at Anand from 14^th to 16^th February, 2013. Managing Director, General Managers, Depot-in-Charges, Zonal Managers, Zonal Accounts Incharges, Zonal System Incharges, Zonal MMO incharges, Departmental Heads, Product Officers, Ad Agency, etc. participated in this meeting. There were around 150 participants in this meeting.

At corporate level GCMMF conducts this kind of meeting twice a year - one in February and another in September. The meeting is conducted in LSIP (Large Scale Interactive Process) manner.

During this meeting the group reviewed status of various Hoshins taken in the last Hoshin Kanri meeting, made plans and derived new Hoshins for the period April, 2013 to March, 2014 along with action plans.

8th Amul Milk Hoshin Kanri Meeting

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GCMMF conducted its 8^th Amul Milk Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) meeting at Anand on 16^th and 17^th January, 2013. Managing Director, Chief General Manager, General Managers, Zonal Incharges, MMO-Incharges of depots and Zones, Representatives from Member Unions, Ad Agency Representatives, etc. participated in this meeting. There were around 120 participants in this meeting.

During this meeting the group reviewed status of various Hoshins taken in the last Amul Milk Hoshin meeting and discussed various plans for the year 2013.