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BANGALORE, Nov. 7

THE National Dairy Development Board's (NDDB), as part of its efforts at modernising its operations, has introduced an Internet-based system to collect data on milk cooperative unions.

Data flow between the unions and NDDB through the Net-based Dairy Information System (IDIS) has replaced the earlier postal system of collecting information. Based on experience, IDIS has been modified according to the unions' information needs.

During 2001-2002, NDDB's Geographical Information System (GIS) was transformed from a stand-alone to an Internet-based network system. Renamed as the Dairy Geographical Information System (DGIS), it would help NDDB build a comprehensive baseline data on major milk production parameters, village enumeration to draw up strategies and help farmers plan their production and marketing plans. Village enumeration has already been carried out in milk sheds (large milk production centres) in 24 district unions in Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. These unions have already started using the data, says the NDDB annual report.

By using the Internet to connect the milk unions' stand-alone GIS applications with the central map server of Anand in Gujarat (head quarters of NDDB), the local data sources were integrated for display, query and analysis of dairy-related data up to the village level on a digitised map. Similar maps of milk shed areas in 125 district unions (covering 170 districts across the country) were incorporated in the system during the year. These maps display villages, roads, towns, railway stations and district boundaries along with corresponding census data.

An additional 60 district unions have been given financial approval to initiate the village enumeration exercise. Financing was approved for market studies of 33 additional towns, raising the total to 117 of which 65 have been completed. Prominent among these are Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur and Kolkata. These studies, which will also cover Mumbai and Delhi, will estimate market demand, the cooperative market share, consumer preferences, end use of milk and other information required to plan milk marketing operations.

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