Citation: Mohapatra S and R Sendhil (2020). Role of Milk Market Infrastructure for Sustainable Dairy Development. Indian Journal of Economics and Development, 16 (SS): 402-407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35716/ijed/NS20-080. 1 Role of Milk Market Infrastructure for Sustainable Dairy Development Soumya Mohapatra 1* and R Sendhil 2 1 Division of Dairy economics, Statistics and Management, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, Haryana – 132001, and 2 ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana – 132001 *Email of the Corresponding Author: soumyaasubhashree@gmail.com Received: January 25, 2020 Manuscript Number: NS20-080 Abstract Poor market infrastructure leads to inefficient use of resources and inequitable welfare distribution hampering sustainable development. Increased productivity along with investments in market infrastructure is critical for dairy development. The main objective of the present study is to develop a composite milk market infrastructure index (MMII) for 21 states of India. The indices were computed using 10 selected indicators, followed by classification into 3 categories viz., High, Moderate and Low for policy prescription. Findings indicated that Gujarat has the highest MMII (0.7156) and shall be attributed to highest number of dairy cooperative societies (2 per 1000 tonnes of milk production). On the contrary, Chhattisgarh has the lowest MMII (0.1194) for lacking facilities in procurement, transportation and communication apart from competitive markets. Surprisingly; Haryana, one of the major contributors to milk production in the country, has been placed under low MMII (0.2445) due to unorganized market structure, less procurement and limited access to extension activities. Our analysis indicated that six states have high MMII, seven under moderate and the rest eight had low MMII. In order to meet the growing demand, milk production should be increased followed by establishing well-organized & well-equipped markets that links production and consumption. To facilitate, Government should implement necessary policy actions in order to strengthen the market infrastructure and disposal pattern of milk so as to ensure “zero hunger, impro ved nutrition & food security” for addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Key words: Dairy productivity, Sustainable development, milk market infrastructure, principal component analysis JEL Codes: L11, L13, M31, M38, M48, Q01, Q02, Q13 INTRODUCTION The launch of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 led India to direct its priorities towards economic growth and most importantly alleviating poverty and malnutrition. India being an agrarian economy, development in agricultural sector is essential for attaining the targeted growth rate as per the National Agricultural Policy. One of the most significant changes in India’s agricultural economy over the past three and a half decades has been the rising contribution of livestock sector in the agricultural gross domestic product. Between 1970 and 2017, the share of livestock in agricultural gross domestic product has risen from 17 per cent to 25.6 per cent (DAHD&F, 2017-18). Currently, India is the highest milk producer in the world with 176.4 million tonnes of milk production (NDDB, 2017-18). By 2050, to maintain its position in the world dairy and to meet the domestic demand for milk, India has to register about three-fold increase in milk production crossing 380-400 million tonnes (NDRI vision, 2050). Despite considerable economic growth and gains in poverty reduction, India is still a home to high level of hunger and malnutrition in the world and food security has been a major challenge for India. Hence, emphasis of SDGs should not be ending poverty by 2030, rather to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by 2025 (IFPRI, 2013). The framework for achieving SDGs and