Meet Daryaben: Gujarat's 'Dairy Queen' who went from being a homemaker to earning ₹1.85 crore annually

For any woman who has spent most of her life being a homemaker, stepping out into the world and creating something of her own from scratch sounds scary and dangerous. Most of the time, self-doubt and lack of knowledge make courage go down faster than one can imagine.

However, when a woman decides to do something from the heart, there is rarely anything that could stop her from achieving it.Such is the story of Daryaben Rajput, the dairy queen from Banaskantha, a district in Gujarat. After beginning her life as a hard-working homemaker, she has now become the symbol of women's entrepreneurship in rural India, managing a dairy business worth crores of rupees while caring for the cattle and providing employment to dozens.

The story of her life

Associated with Banas Dairy, Daryaben supplies around 1,000 litres of milk every day. She owns more than 300 cattle and her dairy empire has grown to provide her with an annual income of ₹1.85 crore.Initially, she ventured into the industry to support her household. At the age of 18, shortly after her marriage, Daryaben became involved in dairy activities. He cared for the few animals owned by her in-laws, milking them and selling the milk locally.

However, over time, her effort evolved into a business generating crores of rupees. She expanded beyond the basic animal husbandry. She increased the number of livestock, improved the milk production and developed her dairy business.

The queen and her empire

Today, Daryaben's farm houses approximately 200 buffaloes and 100 cows, amounting to 300 animals. To support the functioning of her production, she employs 14 workers who live nearby.Her day begins at 3:30 am with milk collection and other activities required to maintain the farm. Her dairy supplies around 1,000 litres of milk daily to the Banas Dairy.This entire effort generates a gross monthly income of around ₹20 lakh and an annual net worth of ₹1.85 crore. Her success is not just about owning a dairy, but also effective management, production strategies and strong integration with the dairy cooperative network.

Banas Dairy: A ray of hope

Banas Dairy has played a significant role in Daryaben's success and that of many more female entrepreneurs in Gujarat. It is one of India's largest dairy cooperative networks and is connected to millions of milk producers. By providing farmers with regular payments, technical guidance, and reliable market access, the cooperative has helped increase rural incomes substantially. Daryaben is one of the many beneficiaries of this model.Among the 472,000 milk producers associated with Banas Dairy, around 168,000 are women. This reflects the growing importance of the dairy sector as a platform for women's economic participation. It also shows how women in rural areas are no longer limited to just participating in familial chores and caring for livestock. They have grown into roles of managers and entrepreneurs, helming the decisions of production, finance and expansion.