There is bad news on the country's health front: consumption of milk has drastically gone down in the past few months, and the main reason behind this is the increasing price of milk. As has been reported, such is the situation that one recent survey said that rising prices of milk have led to one in three Indian households either downgrading brand or reducing consumption. The survey, which was spread over 311 districts across the country, covered over 21,000 respondents. Though no respondent admitted to discontinuing buying milk, 20 per cent of the respondents admitted to "reducing the quantity." The survey also revealed that 68 per cent of the consumers agreed to pay more for the same quantity and brand", while six per cent of the 10,685 have switched over to a lower-cost brand or local supply source. Another four per cent have switched to a cheaper alternative of the same brand that they had been buying earlier. To the question "what is the type of milk that you purchase for the majority of your household consumption", the survey found that 72 per cent of the respondents were buying milk packaged in plastic pouches of 500 ml or one litre, 12 per cent were buying bottled milk from local farms or bottling units, while 14 per cent consumers are buying unpackaged milk from local vendors. Only two per cent were buying tetra pack milk with longer shelf life, possibly because they are more expensive compared to milk packaged in pouches. This is a serious matter, as in most Indian households, milk and milk products – including curd, butter, ghee, buttermilk, etc – are among the most consumed daily food items. According to the "Dairy and Products Annual - 2021" report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India is not only the largest milk producer but also the largest consumer of milk and milk products. India's per capita milk consumption at 406 grams per day (2019-2020), already exceeds the world average of 305 grams per day (2020), the USDA report states. According to National Dairy Development Board data, per capita availability of milk in Assam however is a meagre 71 grams per day.