Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Dr. Raghuram Rajan visited a plant run by entrepreneurialfirm Milk Mantra in Gop.
On a scheduled visit to the state, Rajan expressed an interest to visit an entrepreneurial venture and meet the entrepreneur who started it as well as interact with the farmer community to understand the impact on their lives Milk Mantra has made.
Dr. Rajan spent time understanding how Milk Mantra was started, its growth and the impact on the ecosystem. He then saw the state of the art plant and was shown how Truly Pure milk was processed, packed and stored till dispatch. The team explained how processing of value added products was done and the innovation in packaging and processing technology done by Milk Mantra.
Dr. Rajan also spoke at length with Milk Mantra farmers to know how their individual and societal economy started to change after becoming stakeholders in Milk Mantra's sourcing chain. Dr. Rajan listened intently to the farmer stories of how after they joined the Milk Mantra family they had payments made to them at the right time, better access to loans to buy more cows, insurance for the cows etc.
Dr. Raghuram Rajan commended the work done by Milk Mantra's young team. He said, "By taking an everyday commodity product like milk, they have created an ecosystem for farmers to have better livelihood, and for public to have quality nutrition and enhanced health."
Srikumar Misra, Founder and CEO Milk Mantra said, "The financial inclusion and impact that Milk Mantra is creating through a completely product led business model needs policy framework support at various levels and it's an honor that Dr. Raghuram Rajan visited us and listened to our story and the challenges we face. Our team was highly inspired and motivated by Dr. Rajan's visit."
Milk Mantra is India's first VC funded agri-based startup, located in Odisha. It has launched two innovative brands - Milky Moo range of dairy products, and MooShake, functional ready-to-drink healthy milk beverage. They have 2 state-of-the-art plants, one in Gop and one in Sambalpur. They have recently commissioned a 3rd plant to increase their capacity owing to the increasing consumer demands.