Anand or the Milk Capital of India has a population of over 6,00,000 and functions as the administrative center of Anand District. The city that spearheaded the milk revolution in India under Verghese Kurien, is the headquarters of Amul, The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd and the National Dairy Development Board of India. The Amul milk co-operative is the largest dairy co-operative of India and there are 3267 Micro, Small, and Medium scale enterprises which provide employment to a major section of the population of the district. Gujarati is the main spoken language. The population of Anand district is 2.1 million out of which 40 percent are in the working age. Out of this group, 60 percent are engaged in the agriculture sector, one percent in the household industry and 39 percent work in the industrial and services sector. Agriculture and allied activities provide maximum employment in this fertile region irrigated by the three rivers - Mahi, Shedi and Naveda. The important agricultural crops cultivated are Paddy, Wheat, Jowar, Tur, Gram and Groundnut. Some of the horticulture crops are Mango, Citrus Fruits, Banana and Tobacco. The small and medium industries of the district are related to Dairy, Food Processing, Oil and Natural gas, Iron and Steel, Chemical & Mineral products, Electronics and Engineering.
