About Us

National Dairy Research Institute is the premier organization that provides Research and Development support for dairy development programmes of the nation. Over the years, it has gained prominence as the front ranking research organization on global basis. The Institute works in close liaison with various National and International developmental agencies. Scientific achievements, development of human resource at multi-tier level and infusion of science in various sectors of the dairy industry have been the hallmarks of the Institute. The Institute catalyses close interaction among scientists, students, farmers and dairy industry for orchestrating dairy development process in a harmonious manner. Information generated at the Institute and services offered have contributed to the growth of Dairy Industry on the whole and wellbeing of millions of milk producers and consumers of milk and milk products. Realizing the challenging need of globalized dairy trade, the Institute is continuously working to develop its R&D and HRD programmes to better serve the nation in terms of food security, employment generation and poverty alleviation.

The National Dairy Research Institute metamorphosed from erstwhile Imperial Institute for Animal Husbandry & Dairying, which was established at Bangalore in 1923 primarily as a centre for imparting Dairy Education. A two-year training course for the award of Indian Diploma in Dairying (IDD) was started at the Institute and later several other courses were added. The most important event in the history of the Imperial Institute for Animal Husbandry & Dairying was the training of Mahatma Gandhi and Pundit Madan Mohan Malviya in 1927. They came to the Institute for training and to get acquainted with modern methods of cattle management.

In 1936, the Institute was expanded and renamed as Imperial Dairy Institute. In 1955, the Institute Headquarters was shifted to Karnal, and rechristened as National Dairy Research Institute. With a view to consolidate the impressive infrastructure already developed at Bangalore, the unit was reorganised to serve as the Southern Regional Station of the Institute. In 1962 and 1964, two regional stations were established in Bombay and Kalyani, respectively, to serve as the Western and Eastern regional stations of the Institute. The Southern and the Eastern Regional Stations continue to provide region specific R&D support for dairy development in relation to the agro-climatic conditions that exist in those areas. In 1966, the Institute’s management was weaned away from the Ministry of Agriculture and brought under the wings of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research with a view to provide greater operational autonomy in research management functions. The western regional station was later closed down. The first formal Dairy Technology course was started in India at NDRI in 1957.

In 1989, status of Deemed University was conferred to the Institute for further strengthening the academic programmes for human resource development. The Institute provides high quality education in the field of dairying, which has no parallel in Asia. It is noteworthy that NDRI is not only an important contributor of manpower in dairying required in State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) but also plays an important role in enhancing the teaching capabilities of the faculty from SAUs. The Institute, with its two regional stations, Bangalore in south and Kalyani in eastern India, conducts research in the areas of dairy production, processing and management and provides high quality education in the field of dairying, which has no parallel in Asia.

VISION
Ensure availability of quality milk and milk products at affordable cost, livelihood security to the producer and profitability to the dairy sector through adoption of appropriate technologies and human resource development.

MISSION
To serve the cause of dairying by developing quality human resource and suitable technologies related to the production, processing and marketing of milk and milk products, and their dissemination for the benefit of dairy industry, farming community and the Nation.

MANDATE
• Research in the areas of Dairy Production, Processing and Marketing.
• Human Resource Development in Dairy Sector.
• Dissemination of Innovative Dairy Technologies.