Shankar Chaudhary re-elected as chairman of Banas Dairy Cooperative

INDIA – Shankar Chaudhary, Gujarat Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA from Tharad, has been re-elected unopposed as the chairman of Banas Dairy, Asia’s largest dairy cooperative, for the third consecutive term.

The board of directors also approved the name of Bhavabhai Rabari for the post of vice-chairman. Both will serve a term of 2.5 years.

In the recently held board elections, 15 out of 16 seats were filled unopposed, while only the Danta seat saw a contest, which a BJP-supported candidate eventually won.

Following the results, the board meeting formally re-elected Chaudhary and Rabari to their respective posts.

Expressing gratitude, Chaudhary said, “The growth of Banas Dairy has been possible because of the trust and support of our lakhs of milk producers. We aim to take Banas Dairy to global heights and ensure more benefits for our farmers.”

Established by Galbabhai Nanajibhai Patel, Banas Dairy now operates across eight states, with over 3.76 lakh members and an annual turnover exceeding Rs 20,000 crore.

The dairy transfers around Rs 35 crore daily directly into farmers’ accounts as part of its digital transformation initiatives.

Rajit Punhani appointed FSSAI CEO as authority cracks down on adulterated ghee in Gujarat

Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Rajit Punhani has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The appointment, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on August 22, 2025, places Punhani in the rank and pay of Secretary to the Government of India.

A 1991-batch Bihar cadre officer with over three decades of administrative experience, Punhani currently serves as Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He will succeed Ganji Kamala V. Rao, whose term ends on August 31.

The CEO post has been temporarily upgraded to the Secretary level for this appointment.

Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary of the Department of Water Resources, will take over Punhani’s present role in the Skill Development Ministry.

Punhani’s appointment comes as FSSAI proactively steps up vigilance and enforcement measures to safeguard food safety across the country. 

In a recent action, the authority seized about 6,500 kg of adulterated ghee valued at ₹35 lakh (approx US$39,932) from M/s Korova Milk Product Pvt. Ltd. in Rajkot, Gujarat.

The operation, part of a Special Ghee Surveillance Drive, followed lab tests confirming that ghee samples had been adulterated with vegetable fat in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011.

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