The Operation Flood (OF) programme initiated by NDDB in 1970 was a planned attempt to revive India's Dairy Industry from a premature stagnation. The OF programme not only propelled the growth of dairy development in India, it also helped India become the world's largest milk producer.

OF enhanced the incomes and quality of life for millions of India's dairy farmers, most of them poor and many of them women. It has become India's largest Dairy Development Programme.

OF (1970-1996) created a strong foundation to transform India's dairy sector into a vibrant business activity. It paved the way to take up new initiatives and create new conditions to firm up India's world leadership in milk production. The new challenge for the Dairy Industry was to explore ways to emerge stronger using the network created under OF. The response is Perspective 2010, a plan that attempts to take the dairy cooperative movement to its highest potential.

Perspective 2010 focuses on four key areas. These include Strengthening Cooperative Business, Production Enhancement, Assuring Quality and creating a National Information Network. The State Milk Marketing Federations and the Milk Producers' Cooperative Unions, the architects and key beneficiaries have identified the thrust areas. The plan is designed keeping at helm the benefit to farmers at large. NDDB facilitated the planning process and will provide technical support and need-based finance for implementing Perspective 2010.

• Increase liquid milk procurement by cooperatives to 33 per cent (488 lakh kilograms per day) of the marketable surplus in Operation Flood areas, constituting 80 per cent of the national milk produced (i.e. Quadruple liquid milk procurement by year 2010)
• Increase liquid milk sales to 365 lakh kilograms per day, more than 60 per cent of the market shares in metros, and on average of close to 50 per cent in the Class I cities served by cooperatives (i.e. Treble fluid milk marketing by year 2010)