States » SouthPosted at: Oct 30 2026 2:25PM


Karnataka milk price hike puts Cong on defensive

Bengaluru, Oct 30 (UNI) The Congress government in Karnataka is facing a fresh political and public backlash over its decision to raise Nandini milk prices by Rs 8 per litre, with consumer groups and the hotel industry questioning the additional burden on households even as the government defends the move as essential to protect dairy farmers.
The revised prices, coming into effect from November 1, will take the price of milk from Rs 46 to Rs 54 per litre, marking a steep increase that is likely to affect household budgets and push up costs across the hospitality sector.
The controversy has exposed the government's difficult balancing act between meeting the financial demands of dairy farmers and protecting consumers from rising living costs.
The Bangalore Hotels' Association has opposed the Rs 8 increase and urged the government to restrict the revision to Rs 2-Rs 3 per litre. Its honorary president PC Rao said individual establishments would decide on revising menu prices depending on the additional operating costs.
The Bengaluru Nandini Milk Consumers' Forum has also condemned the decision and demanded its withdrawal, warning that the increase would particularly affect low- and middle-income households.
The BJP has seized on the issue to target the Congress government, accusing it of shifting the burden of supporting farmers onto ordinary consumers. Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleged that the government had failed to honour its electoral commitments and was making people pay for its financial decisions.
Defending the Cabinet decision, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the price revision was necessary to prevent dairy farmers from suffering further losses amid rising costs of cattle feed, fodder, transportation, fuel and packaging.
The government has argued that Rs 7 of the Rs 8 increase will directly benefit milk producers, while the remaining Re 1 will go to milk cooperative societies to meet operational expenses.
The procurement price paid to farmers will accordingly rise from Rs 35 to Rs 42 per litre. With the existing government incentive of Rs 5, their total realisation will increase to Rs 47 per litre.
Shivakumar has maintained that milk producers had been demanding a price revision for the past two years. The government has also cited drought conditions and a decline of nearly 10 lakh litres in daily milk procurement as additional reasons for the intervention.
The government has further argued that even after the revision, Karnataka's milk prices would remain lower than those prevailing in several other states.
However, the consumer backlash raises a larger question over the government's approach to managing essential commodity prices: whether the responsibility of supporting agricultural producers should be met predominantly through higher retail prices or through a combination of government assistance and cooperative-sector efficiencies.
With the revised rates coming into force on November 1, the Nandini price hike has emerged as another politically sensitive issue for the Congress government, bringing farmer welfare, consumer affordability and inflation into direct confrontation.
UNI BDN
Tags: #Karnataka milk price hike puts Cong on defensive
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