'Technology of Indian Milk Products' is the latest from the stable of Publisher-Editor PR Gupta who has been in the business of producing Yearbooks for the last 30 years. The following excerpt aptly sums up the vision and the visionary:

" Mr Gupta has been the moving force behind the two series of books - 'Indian Poultry Industry Yearbook' and 'Dairy India Yearbook'. They have created a niche of their own in the dairy and poultry world. He started out with nothing fanciful other than his trusty Hermes portable typewriter and his home dining table as his work desk in the early ‘seventies. What he lacked by way of infrastructure was more than made up by his dare, bursting self-confidence and innovative approach in pursuit of his vision. His mission: To spread the good word about the vast and exciting opportunities in poultry and dairying among those who need it most - mainly extension workers popularizing modern husbandry practices among farm hands. His first edition of the 'Indian Poultry Industry Yearbook' came out in 1973, while that of the ‘Dairy India’ in 1983. Since then, nine more editions of poultry and four more of dairy 'yearbooks' have been published. (The word "yearbook" is really a misnomer, symbolizing a statement of intent when the book project was conceived, but the word has stuck - Ed.). He relies on a writing style that is direct and user-friendly, without the mumbo-jumbo of technical jargon or obscurantist prose of the academic high flyer. Over the years, he has moved with the times. Now operating from his own office in Delhi, which is equipped with computers, fax and e-mail facilities for speedy communications, his editorial "net" reaches out to the farthest ends of the world.

"The 'yearbooks' in the two series are encyclopaedic in coverage and have come to create a unique status among professionals in the livestock sector which is dependant on both technical and economic database and reportage.

"Entrepreneurs have set up business based on the market data culled from these books. It is a claim that is not difficult to believe. Any industry dependant on different resources and auxiliary systems would require good networking. Containing as they do a gamut of information on every conceivable aspect of the industry, including a hefty buyer's guide to some 7,000 suppliers of inputs, products and services, these compendia are also a boon to the established professional. In addition, the statistical data and technical reviews and reports by experts published in the 'yearbooks' are reflective of the latest developments in the country and abroad. They are useful to policy makers and India-watchers as well. What is particularly significant is that when the doors of liberalization were opened by the Indian government in the early nineties, Gupta was already there with his 'yearbooks'. In fact, he had been there for over two decades - enabling people to strike while the iron was hot. If that isn't the mark of a visionary then what is?"

—Livestock International, New Delhi, August 1997.