Rural India will create 1.2 crore new, sustainable jobs in dairy sector in 10 years: Amul

SAP India, Amul to deliver digital literacy, community development for 1.5 million people in Gujarat

Bengaluru Rural India will create 1.2 crore new jobs in dairy-related activities in the next 10 years and these jobs would mean livelihood and food security for a large population in the country, said R.S. Sodhi, Managing Director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul). The dairy sector has the potential to generate a large number of new jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, and sustainable incomes for families and therefore ensure food security, he said while addressing a gathering at Amul facility in Anand on Tuesday. The country’s dairy sector would do good for the next 50 years especially when many neighbouring countries were facing milk shortages, added Mr. Sodhi. SAP and Amul announced a joint community outreach, focused on knowledge transfer and technology capacity building that would transform the lives of 1.5 million people in Gujarat, comprising children, adolescents, youth, women, and farmers. The initiative was designed to focus on social entrepreneurship, enablement of a skilled workforce, digital inclusion, and bridging the gender equality gap for the community. Under this programme, over a lakh children, adolescents and women would receive digital literacy and skilling through computer labs set up across 60 schools. Some 250 teachers would receive training while over 20,000 women would be given financial literacy and entrepreneurship training. Emphasising the importance of digital literacy, Kulmeet Bawa, President, MD, SAP Indian Subcontinent, rural India had a digital literacy rate of 25% whereas it was 61% in urban India. “Technology can act as a catalyst in shaping India’s journey to an inclusive and sustainable economy. While urban development projects such as smart cities and futuristic mobility are reflective of this potential, true progress of India lies in the development of her villages,’‘ he said. “We all need to work together, as individuals and enterprises, and contribute to education, empowerment, digital literacy for students and women,’‘ he added. Over the last two decades, SAP and Amul have been working together to optimise business processes and drive digital transformation for the dairy cooperative, using SAP’s digital core ERP and supply chain solutions. To drive literacy and inclusion at the grassroots, SAP and Amul now extended their collaboration to create a digitally inclusive ecosystem that would deliver technical education and professional support in the areas of coding, English skills, and socio-economic opportunities. The collaboration would also build a STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) based learning environment to help students in marginalised regions make a smoother transition to the workforce and enhance job opportunities, said SAP India.