Economics Of Informal Milk Producing Units In Assam

Despite good industrial growth, the modern sector is unable to provide employment to the surplus and marginal labor force in an urban area. The surplus labor has made a valiant effort to carve out a niche for its own living and subsistence, within the urban economic system, undertaking a variety of informal productive activities known as the informal sector (ILO, 1972).In India, urban informal sector (IS) includes a number of activities in its ambits. Milk production and distribution is one such productive activity undertaken by a section of under-privileged urbanites (Gowalas). Small scale producers mostly carry out their production activities either in the far end of the urban boundaries or in the open spaces available in the cities and towns.Increasing urbanization has led to increase in the demand for raw milk and dairy products in most of the Indian cities. Our proposed study area Greater Guwahati City has undergone massive population growth. Along with high urbanization, the total demand for milk consumption in the city has also increased.Due to high urbanization, high demand for milk as well as the lack of capacity of the formal milk producing sector (FMPUs) to meet the rising demand has made the role of the informal milk producing units (IMUs) become vital. Hence, the author felt the necessity to undertake a comprehensive study on the IMPUs in Guwahati City.