Starter cultures are live bacteria used to kickstart the fermentation process in dairy products.
In a significant step towards self-reliance in the dairy sector, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has begun indigenous production of starter cultures — the essential bacterial blends used to make fermented dairy products like curd, yogurt, lassi, buttermilk and cheese. The production is being carried out at a newly established Ready-to-Use Culture (RUC) facility at Anand, Gujarat and is being supplied to some of the country’s biggest dairy brands including Amul, Banas Dairy and Mother Dairy.
Despite being one of the world’s largest dairy producers, India has long depended on imported starter cultures — a reliance that not only increased production costs but also posed supply chain risks. With the launch of domestic production, NDDB aims to cut import dependency, enhance product quality and reduce costs for dairy processors across the country.
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“We have been importing large volumes of RUC from Denmark and other European countries. Now we have started manufacturing these in India. This is a technology where we are concentrating a culture consisting of one or more bacteria, used in making fermented products like curd, yogurt or cheese. These bacterias are responsible for the flavour, texture and desired acidity. These starter cultures are freeze dried, unlike traditional propagative cultures, which have drawbacks like inconsistent quality, low bacterial count, and high technical expertise requirements,” said Meenesh Shah, chairman of NDDB while speaking to businessline.
Starter cultures are live bacteria used to kickstart the fermentation process in dairy products. Shah said one kilogram pouch of curd worth ₹60 being sold in the open market will contain 30 paise of the RUC developed by NDDB. These starter cultures from NDDB’s stable have longer shelf life, can be added directly to milk and have higher bacterial concentration.
NDDB has developed and transferred the RUC technology to IDMC Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NDDB, for commercial manufacturing and marketing. IDMC has also established a state-of-the-art, RUC manufacturing facility at Anand to meet the demand for high-quality dairy cultures in India. The plant, inaugurated by Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah in July 2025, has a capacity to manufacture RUC adequate to ferment 10 lakh litres of milk per day and it features advanced equipment like fermenters, concentrators and freeze dryers.
The NDDB chairman said the products made at this new RUC facility have already made it to the large dairy brands of India. “We have given out product to Amul, Banas, Mother Dairy and our units in Jharkhand and Assam. All of them have tested and have found it good. However we need to work with them for a few months to get all the bacteria as per the culture they have been using. Though we are operating at full capacity it is more of a trial with potential users, to see that they get a product as per their requirement,” Shah said.
Currently, the market for RUC in India is ₹300 crore and NDDB is looking to capture 20 percent of the market share through its products. The facility has been set up with an initial investment of ₹38.50 crore and is now being expanded to serve 20 lakh litres of milk fermentation per day. “The facility we have created is small compared to the total market size. This is the first such pilot facility and depending on the success we have a plan to add one more line and double the capacity of this plant by next year,” Shah added.
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