Aavin to revive button paal milk vending machines in Kodaikanal and Ooty on pilot basis

Direct fact

In July 2026, the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited told the Madras High Court that it will revive Aavin milk sales through Automatic Vending Machines (AVMs) at Kodaikanal in Dindigul district and Udhagamandalam in The Nilgiris district on a pilot basis.

Key specifics

• AVMs were shut down completely in 2014 after complaints of adulteration in milk sold through the machines.
• The federation placed orders for 2 AVMs from a private company in Uttar Pradesh, and each machine costs ₹3.6 lakh.
• One AVM will come up at the Aavin hi-tech parlour on Poet Thiagarajar Salai, Kodaikanal, with approvals from the Dindigul Collector and the Commissioner of Milk Production and Dairy Development, Chennai.
• The second AVM is planned near the Uzhavar Sandhai at Charing Cross, Udhagamandalam, with UPI-enabled digital payment facilities.
• The court-linked plan aims to reduce plastic sachet use in the operational area and test customer response, feasibility and sustainability.

Exam lens

TNPSC current affairs on cooperative sector and environment: Aavin, AVM, 2014 shutdown, Kodaikanal, Udhagamandalam, ₹3.6 lakh per machine, UPI payment. A likely question can ask where the pilot AVMs are being installed and why the High Court intervened.