(Image for representation) According to the Banas Dairy chairman, the original idea of monetising cow-dung and cow-urine came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has always described cattle as “Gau-Dhan”. File Photo: The Hindu
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First it was milk. Then cow dung. Now, India’s largest dairy has found gold in yet another bovine byproduct — cow urine. In a bold move, Banas Dairy has launched a pilot project to purchaseGau Mutra (cow urine) from local farmers at ₹5 per litre, which could boost rural incomes and promote organic farming.
The initiative focuses on farmers who rear the indigenous Kankrej breed — a hardy, humped cattle native to Gujarat. The collected urine is processed at a facility in Banaskantha, where it is turned into potent organic soil conditioners and plant growth promoters, tapping into the growing demand for chemical-free agriculture.
“Animal husbandry cannot solely survive on milk procurement. Increasingly, we are see cattle being abandoned once they are past their milk-producing years. They become a financial burden on farmers. So, after some research, we decided to float this pilot project to tap the nutrients found in cow-urine including Potash. So, we have started procuring cow urine at ₹5 per litre from 150 cattle-rearers owning ‘desi’ cows. I can say for sure that this project has been a success and it will change the course of dairying in India,” said Shankar Chaudhary, chairman of Banas Dairy, told the businessline.
The project not only puts money directly into the hands of cattle owners — many of whom had little use for cow urine till now — but also supports Banas Dairy’s broader push into eco-friendly agri-inputs.
While cow urine has long been part of traditional farming and Ayurvedic practices, this is the first time a major co-operative has commercialised it at scale. If the pilot succeeds, Banas Dairy plans to expand collection across North Gujarat, potentially creating a multi-crore rural economy from what was once flushed away.
The pilot plant, located at the Radhanpur milk chilling centre, was commissioned in July 2025 and currently produces a soil conditioner and growth promoter under a brand “Bhoomi Amrut.” The growth promoter is marketed as a “powerful, eco-friendly bio-stimulant made from ammonia-rich cow urine extract and nutrient-rich seaweed extract. The soil conditioner is being sold as blend of concentrated cow urine and seaweed extract that can revitalise barren or depleted farmland and gardens. Both products are available in one-litre packaging.
“What we are seeing at Banas is an example of a circular economy in motion. The cow-dung and urine rejuvenate the soil and help the growth of grass. The cattle eat this grass and gives milk, cow-dung and cow-urine. This is a never-ending cycle. If a farmer gets ₹50-60 per day by cow-urine, in addition to ₹100-150 per day earned by selling milk, he or she can easily meet the expenses of feeding the cattle,” said Chaudhary, who is also a veteran BJP leader from North Gujarat and the Speaker of Gujarat Assembly.
According to the Banas Dairy chairman, the original idea of monetising cow-dung and cow-urine came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has always described cattle as “Gau-Dhan”.
Banas Dairy, which hit a peak of 100 lakh litres per day of milk collection in 2024-25, is already collecting cow dung from farmers. The dairy offers up to ₹1 per kilogram of cow dung for its functional dung-based Compressed Biomethane Gas (CBG) plant in Banaskantha district and has also signed a tripartite agreement with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Suzuki R&D Center India Pvt Ltd (SRDI), an Indian subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, for setting up four new such dung-based CBG plants in Gujarat. All of these plants are under various stages of construction.
Published on September 29, 2025
