The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has today approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD).
The Revised NPDD, a Central Sector Scheme, has been enhanced with an additional Rs.1000 crore, bringing the total budget to Rs.2790 crore for the period of the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). This initiative focuses on modernizing and expanding dairy infrastructure, ensuring the sector’s sustained growth and productivity.
The revised NPDD will give an impetus to the dairy sector by creating infrastructure for milk procurement, processing capacity, and ensuring better quality control. It is intended to help farmers gain better access to markets, to ensuring better pricing through value addition, and improve the efficiency of the supply chain, leading to higher incomes and greater rural development.
The scheme consists of two key components:
1. Component A is dedicated to improving essential dairy infrastructure, such as milk chilling plants, advanced milk testing laboratories, and certification systems. It also supports the formation of new village dairy cooperative societies and strengthens milk procurement and processing in the North Eastern Region (NER), hilly regions, and Union Territories (UTs), especially in remote and backward areas, as well as the formation of 2 Milk Producer Companies (MPCs) with dedicated grant support
2. Component B, known as “Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC)”, will continue to foster dairy development through cooperation with the Government of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as per agreements signed. This component focuses on the sustainable development of dairy cooperatives, improving production, processing, and marketing infrastructure in the nine States (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal).
The implementation of NPDD started has made huge socio-economic impact already benefiting over 18.74 lakh farmers and has created over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and increase milk procurement capacity by an additional 100.95 lakh liters per day. The NPDD has also supported in promoting cutting-edge technology for better milk testing and quality control. Over 51,777 village-level milk testing laboratories have been strengthened, while 5,123 bulk milk coolers with a combined capacity of 123.33 lakh liters have been installed. In addition, 169 labs have been upgraded with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) milk analysers, and 232 dairy plants now have advanced systems for detecting adulteration.
The Revised NPDD is expected to establish 10,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies, processing in the North Eastern Region (NER), as well as the formation of 2 Milk Producer Companies (MPCs) with dedicated grant support in addition to the ongoing projects of NPDD, to generate an additional 3.2 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities, particularly benefiting women, which constitute 70% of the dairy workforce.
The Revised National Programme for Dairy Development will transform India’s modern infrastructure, in sync with White Revolution 2.0 and will further support the newly formed cooperatives by providing new technology, and quality testing labs. This program will help improve rural livelihoods, generate jobs, and build a stronger, more resilient dairy industry that benefits millions of farmers and stakeholders across the country.
Cabinet also approves implementation of revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission with enhanced allocation for the years 2024-25 and 2025-26
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has today approved the Revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) to boost growth in livestock sector. Implementation of revised RGM, as Central Sector component of Development Programmes scheme is being done with an additional outlay of Rs.1000 crore that is total outlay of Rs.3400 crore during 15th Finance Commission cycle from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Two New activities added are: (i) One-time assistance of 35% of the capital cost for establishment of Heifer Rearing Centres to Implementing Agencies for creation of 30 housing facilities having total 15000 heifers and (ii) To encourage farmers to purchase High genetic merit (HGM) IVF heifers to provide 3% interest subvention on loan taken by the farmer from milk unions / financial institutions/ banks for such purchase. This will help in systemic induction of high yielding breeds.
The revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission is approved with an allocation Rs.3400 crore during 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).
The scheme is for continuation of ongoing activities of Rashtriya Gokul Mission- strengthening of semen stations, Artificial Insemination network, implementation of bull production programme, accelerated breed improvement programme using sex sorted semen, skill development, farmer awareness, support for innovative activities including establishment of Centre of Excellence, strengthening of Central Cattle Breeding Farms and strengthening of Central Cattle Breeding Farms without any change in the pattern of assistance in any of these activities.
With the implementation of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and other efforts of the Government, milk production has increased by 63.55% in the last ten years, along with the availability of milk per person, which was 307 grams per day in 2013-14, has increased to 471 grams per day in 2023-24. Productivity has also increased by 26.34% in the last ten years.
The Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme (NAIP) under the RGM provides free of cost Artificial Insemination (AI) at the farmer’s doorstep in 605 districts across the country where the baseline AI coverage was below 50%. Till date, over 8.39 crores animals have been covered and 5.21crores farmers have been benefitted. RGM has also been at the forefront in bringing the latest technological interventions in breeding to the farmer’s doorstep. A total of 22 in vitro fertilization (IVF) labs have been set up across the country under the State Livestock Boards (SLBs) or in Universities and over 2541 HGM calves have been born. Two path breaking steps in Atmanirbhar technology are the Gau Chip and Mahish Chip, genomic chips for indigenous bovines developed by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) and Gau Sort indigenously developed sex sorted semen production technology developed by NDDB.
The scheme is set to significantly boost milk production and productivity, ultimately increasing farmers’ incomes. It focuses on the protection and preservation of India’s indigenous bovine breeds through systematic and scientific efforts in bull production and the development of indigenous bovine genomic chips. Additionally, in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has become an established technology, due to the initiatives taken under the scheme. This initiative will not only enhance productivity but also improves livelihoods of 8.5 crores farmers engaged in Dairying.
Source: Dairynews7x7 March 20th 2025 by PMO