Dairy sector identified as key growth driver for Chittoor, says Collector

District Collector Sumit Kumar on Thursday called for a coordinated strategy to galvanise employment opportunities, industrialisation, and poverty reduction across Chittoor district, with the dairy sector identified as a key growth engine.

The Collector was addressing the District Industries and Export Promotion Committee (DIEPC) meeting here. He highlighted the urgency of expanding self-employment through micro food processing units in rural and urban areas to strengthen household incomes, in line with the State government’s vision of ‘one family, one entrepreneur’.

Observing that dairying had already been anchoring the district economy, with milk production nearing 20 lakh litres per day, Mr. Sumit Kumar said that enhanced bank credit, infrastructure, and value addition were essential to unlock its full potential. He directed the officials to obtain mandal and bank-wise reports on dairy loans disbursed during the current financial year and to ensure greater convergence between banks and the Animal Husbandry Department.

The Collector stated that the line departments should strive to provide end-to-end support for first-time entrepreneurs, women, and youth under schemes such as PMEGP, PMFME, and PMMY. Women entrepreneurs who completed EDP training were asked to ground PMEGP units by March 8, while all remaining sanctioned units must be grounded by March 31.

The Collector ordered a perception survey of entrepreneurs who received approvals from regulatory departments to identify delays and improve the ease of doing business.