Lucknow, July 2 : Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a significant growth in dairy units and milk production over the past four years. Six large investors, including Amul, have invested Rs 172 crore in setting up dairy plants. According to the government spokesman, seven dairy plants are in the process of being set up while 15 investors have offered to set up units. Uttar Pradesh is the largest milk producing state in the country and accounts for more than 17 per cent of the milk production in India. The spokesman said: "In 2016-17, UP produced 277.69 lakh tonnes of milk which has increased to 318.63 lakh tonnes in 2020-21. The government has started setting up greenfield dairies to boost production. "These are being set up at Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Meerut, Bareilly, Kannauj, Gorakhpur, Firozabad, Ayodhya and Moradabad. Four old dairies in Jhansi, Noida, Aligarh and Prayagraj are being upgraded." To promote cattle rearing and milk production, the state has started Gokul Awards and Nandbaba Awards. These are given to the highest producer of milk from indigenous cows. The government has given credit cards to 12 lakh milk farmers in the state. /IANS