Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)

Rashtriya Gokul Mission was launched (in December, 2014 by Ministry of Agriculture) with the aim to develop and conserve indigenous bovine breeds to enhance milk production and productivity. The mission also focuses on increasing the potential of self-employment in livestock through entrepreneurship especially in rural areas.

Components of RGM

• National Programme for Bovine Breeding - enhance the productivity of milch animals through extension of artificial insemination coverage.
• National Mission on Bovine Productivity - make dairying more remunerative to farmers. It has following components-
  • Pashu Sanjivini: issuing health cards for animals and creating their database.
  • Use of Advance Reproductive Technique
  • Creation of E-Pashu Haat Portal: linking farmers and breeders of indigenous breeds.
  • Establishment of National Bovine Genomic Centre for Indigenous Breeds (NBGC-IB): enhancing milk production and productivity through genomic selection among indigenous breeds.

Performance of RGM

• Under the mission, a portal ‘e-pashuhaat’ has been launched, to connect animal breeders with milk producers.
• Setting up of Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) and Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) for financing infrastructure requirement of animal husbandry sector.
• The facility of Kisan Credit Card has been extended by the government to the fisheries and livestock farmers.
• Mass Embryo Transfer Programme in indigenous breeds under National Mission on Bovine Productivity.

Challenges

• Very low productivity of the domestic cattle population of the country.
• No system or data for separation of animal products from healthy and diseased animals.
• Spread of diseases among animals and zoonotic diseases to human beings.
• Insufficient veterinary services as well as poor maintenance of records on animal breeding, productivity, treatment and vaccination.
• Underdeveloped and unorganized fragmented markets for live animals and their products.

Possibilities and Prospects

• Focus on development and conservation of indigenous breeds of cattle and buffalo breeds through implementation of progeny testing and pedigree selection programme.
• Providing adequate extension services and institutional support in terms of credit and insurance.
• Create e-market portal for bovine germplasm for connecting breeders and farmers after meeting out sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) issues.
• Tagging with animal wellness card can be mandatory for sale of milch animals.
• To achieve the mission of doubling milk production of 300MT by 2023-24, the need is to prioritize initiatives that have a catalyzing effect rather than a one-off impact.