Latest news with #Aavin
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
2 new Aavin dairies to double supply
Chennai: With Gujarat-based Amul slowly firming up its dairy footprint in Tamil Nadu, the state govt-run Aavin has begun ramping up its infrastructure in Chennai after several years. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Two new dairies — one in Madhavaram with a capacity of 10lakh litres a day and another in Acharapakkam of 1 lakh litre capacity — are set to begin operations by March 2026, effectively doubling Aavin's current milk supply potential in Chennai to 22 lakh litres a day, said A Annadurai in response to a grievance letter from the Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers and Workers Welfare Union. The move comes days after Amul managing director Amit Vyas told reporters here that the brand, already selling curd in Chennai, will "slowly and steadily enter into the milk segment" through its plant in Chittoor. Though Chennai, with a population of more than one crore, is a high-potential dairy market, Aavin's current daily sales in the city hover around just 11 lakh litres. Private dairies, despite commanding higher prices, have a stronger presence. Many brands have increased prices by 2 to 3 thrice in the past year, without prior notice or justification. "Aavin's Green Magic, a standardized variant, is in high demand. But it's restricted to monthly cardholders. At retail outlets, agents push the full cream 'premium' or toned 'nice' packs, which don't suit our morning coffee," said T Sadagopan, a resident-activist from Pattabiram. "Aavin should promote what consumers actually prefer, not what offers them higher margins." Beyond sales, Aavin's response letter also addressed environmental concerns raised by the union. The Ambattur dairy, one of its key units, was flagged for polluting the Korattur lake. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Aavin said that its sewage treatment plant, earlier operating at 3.3 lakh litre a day capacity, is being upgraded to 7 lakh litres a day, with the new facility expected to go live by the end of 2025. Indian Institute of Technology Madras has certified the treatment unit's current output at 700 KLD, and formal approvals from the pollution control board for capacity expansion are under process. On the procurement front, Aavin released 342.14 crore in procurement incentives since Dec 2023, directly credited to dairy farmers through cooperative unions. Dealers too have been seeking a revision in commission rates, which currently stand at 1.5 a litre for retail sellers and 2 for wholesale. Aavin has said the revision will be considered when milk prices are restructured.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
HC orders corruption case against 2 IAS officers for Aavin fraud
Madurai: Slamming the closure of corruption proceedings against two IAS officers -- C Kamaraj and Vallalar -- despite the availability of prima facie materials for a fraud committed in procuring registers for primary milk cooperative societies, Madras high court has directed the DVAC to register a case against the two officers and the then additional milk commissioner. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The materials available on record are disturbing the conscience of the court. A fraud has been played in procuring registers for the cooperative milk unions," said Justice B Pugalendhi. Ruing the fact that IAS officers go unpunished despite the fact that no fraud could be committed without their connivance, said: "The chief secretary and the vigilance commissioner must have the courage and conviction to question the erring IAS officers. IAS officers are so powerful that not even a single erring IAS officer has ever been punished so far. It can be taken that their batchmates or friends are always there to rescue them. " The present case relates to an 'oral decision' taken in 2019 to procure and supply accounting registers for all primary milk cooperative societies across the state. Tuticorin Cooperative Stores Limited was selected to supply the registers without any written communications and orders. Vellaiammal, the manager company, procured the required registers from Global Traders, run by her husband Kannan. Though six types of registers were to be purchased at a cost of Rs 2,282 each, only three types of registers were supplied at a cost of Rs 2,688, against its own quotation. DVAC recommenced to register a criminal case against Vellaiammal and her husband Kannan, said Justice Pugalendhi, adding: "It is not known as to why criminal prosecution was not launched against the officials." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Pointing out that proceedings against the IAS officers were dropped by the then chief secretary stating that those IAS officers have not been appraised properly about the process, the judge said: "The court is unable to understand the reasons given by the chief secretary for closing the files as against those IAS officers. If anybody claims that an IAS officer has mechanically signed, then he is unfit to be an IAS officer holding such top administrative posts. " Comparing Tamil Nadu's Aavin with Gujarat's Amul, Justice Pugalendhi pointed out that the two cooperative milk movements were established in 1958 and 1946 respectively. Today, Amul has a turnover of Rs 59,259 crore and its overall milk procurement is 350 lakh litres per day. Aavin has a turnover of Rs 7,000 crore and its overall milk procurement is around 15 lakh litres per day. The judge observed: "Though both are similar cooperative movements for procurement and sale of milk and dairy products, there is a huge difference between Aavin and Amul in procurement of milk and its turnover. The reasons for this set back can be easily found out from this case. It might be mostly due to the corruption prevailing in the department." He then dismissed the petition and directed the authorities to conclude the disciplinary proceedings initiated against Christhudhas within three months. He also directed the Central Vigilance Commissioner to take a call on the issue, to justify the govt's stated 'zero-tolerance' policy against corruption.
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Doctors at Kallakurichi Government Medical College and Hospital perform cochlear implant surgery on six children in a year
S. Anand Babu, 37, an employee of Aavin, from Mathur near Kallakurichi is happy to see his five-year-old son Kovegan call him 'Appa'. Earlier, the child did not respond when his name was called and was unresponsive to everyday sounds. Born with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss, the child could not speak till the age of four. But all that changed when he underwent free cochlear implant surgery under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme at the Kallakurichi Government Medical College and Hospital (KGMCH) in 2024. 'When he was two-and-a-half years old, we realised that he was not responding to sounds. We took him to the Kallakurichi Government Medical College and Hospital where doctors performed a surgery on June 12, 2024. He is now slowly picking up words', says Mr. Anand Babu. According to a doctor, the child, identified through newborn hearing screening, underwent thorough pre-operative evaluation, including BERA, MRI, and CT scans. The team led by Chennai-based expert otorhinolaryngologist Mohan Kameswaran performed the surgery with assistance from the local ENT team, and successfully implanted a multi-channel digital cochlear device. The device was switched on after four weeks and regular auditory-verbal therapy was initiated. There was significant improvement in the child's auditory comprehension and he progressed from Level 0 (No awareness) to Level 5 (understands common phrases without lip reading). Kovegan is among six children aged below five years suffering from profound hearing loss from Kallakurichi district, who have undergone surgery for cochlear implant. The first surgery was performed on Kovegan. Picking up since then, the ENT team at KGMCH has completed six cochlear implants in the last one year. Another surgery is scheduled for June 18. According to Professor Sowndararajan, Head, Department of ENT, KGMCH, 'The implants, which cost more than ₹4 lakh, are funded by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. Patients receive the entire surgery and post-operative treatment free of cost. At KGMCH, free screening is done for all newborns.'
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Labour law can't be rendered illusory, says HC, directs Aavin to pay costs of 20K
Chennai: Coming to the aid of 1,100 workmen of Aavin, who were contesting multiple legal battles against their termination for over 45 years, has asserted that Aavin cannot be allowed to render the protective framework of labour legislation illusory. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice A D Maria Clete dismissed the appeals moved by Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited against the orders passed by the labour court to reinstate the workmen and imposed 20,000 as costs in each of the appeals to be paid to the workers. "In the end, regardless of the political regime in power, no real solace was extended to the working class. They remained victims of a system where a powerful employer could dismiss them without due process," the judge said. All the 1,100 workers were terminated from service for participating in a one-day strike on Nov 19, 1980, without conducting any inquiry. The workers, through the employees' union, raised an industrial dispute before the state labour department. After two years, the govt refused to refer the dispute for adjudication under the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act. Aggrieved, the union moved the high court, which ruled in favour of the workmen in 1983. Claiming to be aggrieved by the order, both Aavin and the labour department moved appeals, which were dismissed by the high court. After five years, the govt issued two orders of reference. After a 'protracted trial' spanning 13 years, the industrial tribunal on Feb 17, 1997, held that the workmen, having been dismissed without the conduct of any inquiry, were entitled to reinstatement. However, the tribunal limited the award of back wages to 25%. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Aavin moved an appeal challenging the award, which was also dismissed by the high court in 2015. In the meantime, the workmen moved the labour court for computation of their back wages. Now, challenging the order passed by the labour court, Aavin has moved the high court. Dismissing the five petitions of Aavin, the court said, "This court now draws the curtain on a protracted legal battle that has spanned an extraordinary 45 years—a duration far too long for any ordinary workman to endure while seeking justice against a powerful employer. " The court then directed Aavin to pay costs of 20,000 in each of the writ petitions to the respective contesting workmen.
New Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Aavin halts issuance of new full-cream milk cards
CHENNAI: Owing to rising subsidy costs, Aavin has suspended issuance of full cream milk (FCM) cards to consumers for monthly purchases. While Aavin officials remained tight-lipped about it, the staff at various milk consumers cooperative societies across the city informed customers that milk cards are available only for the standardised, toned, and Delite varieties. The FCM has also been delisted in milk card applications in Aavin's online portal. It is learnt that FCM, sold at Rs 46 per litre after a subsidy of Rs 14 a litre to milk cardholders, caused a significant financial loss for Aavin, prompting the organisation to halt the issuance of new milk cards. In comparison, other milk cards offer a subsidy of only Rs 2 per litre. In retail sales, the FCM of Aavin is sold at Rs 60 per litre as opposed to Rs 46 per litre to cardholders. The price of private FCM variants ranges from Rs 72 to Rs 76 a litre. Until a few months ago, residents could obtain these cards by submitting their Aadhaar and family ration cards. However, starting from May 1, new FCM cards are no longer being issued for FCM, milk consumers told TNIE. Aavin Managing Director A Annadurai stated that daily procurement stands at 33 lakh litres and that sufficient milk is being supplied to consumers. 'There is no shortage of milk. If milk consumers' cooperative societies have stopped issuing the cards, we will look into the matter,' he said. According to official data, Chennai consumes around 13 lakh litres of Aavin milk daily, with 5.5 to 6 lakh litres distributed through milk cards, benefiting roughly 10 lakh residents. S Varadharajan, a resident of Ayanavaram, shared his experience: 'I always buy FCM as we use it for making curd. After moving to Padi, I didn't renew my card, which got cancelled five years ago. Recently, when I enquired at the Korattur society for an FCM card, I was told it is no longer available. I purchase Arokya and other brands for Rs 74 to Rs 76 now.'
