More price but less quantity: Karnataka's Nandini milk price expected to rise by Rs 5/ litre

The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has proposed a ₹5 per litre hike for Nandini milk, which, if approved, will take effect after the state budget on March 7. Additionally, the quantity per packet will be reduced from 1,050 ml to one litre, reversing last year’s increase in volume.

If implemented, the price of Nandini-toned milk will rise from ₹44 to ₹47 per litre, marking the steepest increase by KMF in three years. The last hike was in 2022, when prices went up by ₹3 per litre. In 2024, while prices rose by ₹2 per packet, KMF had added 50 ml extra per litre, claiming it wasn’t a real price increase.

This proposed hike comes at a time when the cost of essential commodities and services is rising. Coffee powder prices are set to increase by ₹200 per kg, BMTC bus and Namma Metro fares have gone up, and the government is considering a higher water tariff. Meanwhile, electricity supply companies (escoms) have requested a 67-paise-per-unit hike in power tariffs for the upcoming financial year.

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, criticized the government over the proposed hike, accusing it of financial mismanagement. “For this government, there are no other options left except for raising prices, because they don’t know how to manage the budget,” he said.

Mocking the repeated price hikes, he added, “Only milk items were left, but those prices have also been increased now. I don’t know how many more hikes they’ll do next.” He also questioned whether the government would pass the entire ₹5 hike to farmers, saying, “Their manifesto states that they will give ₹5 to farmers, but will they actually provide it, or put it in their pocket?”