Rohtak, Oct. 4 -- In a push to strengthen India's cooperative sector, Union home and cooperatives minister Amit Shah inaugurated the newly built Sabar Dairy (Amul) plant at Industrial Model Township here on Friday. The facility, constructed at a cost of Rs.325 crore, has been set up by the Gujarat-headquartered Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, popularly known as Sabar Dairy. Addressing a gathering after the inauguration, Shah said India's dairy sector has registered 70% growth over the past 11 years, making it the fastest-growing in the world. He added that the government plans to connect every village with a cooperative dairy by 2029, with 75,000 new cooperatives to be established in the coming years. "The Rohtak plant will have a daily production capacity of 150 metric tonnes of curd, 3 metric tonnes of buttermilk, 10 metric tonnes of yogurt and 10 metric tonnes of sweets," Shah said. He noted that the facility was strategically set up in Haryana as residents of Haryana have the highest consumption of milk and buttermilk in the country. The plant, he said, would strengthen the supply chain in the entire National Capital Region. Shah highlighted that India has emerged as the world's top milk producer and under White Revolution 2.0, milk procurement by cooperatives is expected to touch 1,007 lakh kg per day by 2028-29. The Union minister also said that national milk production had grown from 140 million tonnes in 2014 to 249 million tonnes in 2025, while production from indigenous cow breeds rose from 29 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes. The sector, he said, now engages 8 crore new farmers and per capita milk availability has jumped from 124 grams per day in 2014 to 471 grams currently. "The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and will generate both direct and indirect employment. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's dairy capacity has expanded by 70%," Shah said, adding that the Centre has identified three key goals for livestock farmers - improving animal feed, manure management, and circular use of residues. Praising Sabar Dairy's management, Shah recalled that the cooperative began with just three people in Gujarat's Sabarkantha district before expanding to nine districts, and now runs a business worth Rs.85,000 crore in India and abroad. Later in the day, Shah, accompanied by Haryana chief minister Nayab Saini and other state ministers, attended the Khadi Artisan Festival organised by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak. He said Khadi had emerged as a strong pillar of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', with its business turnover growing from Rs.33,000 crore in 2014 to Rs.1.70 lakh crore in 2025. He distributed 12 types of modern machines, including automatic charkhas and leather machines, along with margin money support to artisans. "Khadi and village industries were long neglected by previous governments. Today, they are a symbol of self-reliant India. The vision of 'Swaraj' at the time of independence was incomplete without 'Swadeshi' and 'Swabhasha'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inspired 140 crore Indians to embrace indigenous products," he added. Meanwhile, MDU students alleged that the university sports ground had been damaged the previous night due to road construction and use of rollers ahead of Shah's visit. To prevent disruptions, student leaders Pradeep Deswal and Naveen Jaihind were placed under house arrest. Deswal had earlier announced plans to submit a memorandum to the Union home minister seeking a probe against MDU vice-chancellor Rajbir Singh over alleged corruption and exam malpractices....