Rashtriya Gokul Mission

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

Subject – Agriculture

Context – Improving livestock breeding

Concept –

Rashtriya Gokul Mission comprises of two components namely:

• The national program for bovine breeding and
• National mission for bovine productivity

Objectives:

• Development and conservation of indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner.
• Undertake breed improvement program for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock.
• Enhance milk production and productivity.
• Distribute disease free high genetic merit bulls for natural service.

Significant initiatives under RashtriyaGokul Mission:

Awards for encouraging farmers/breeder societies to rear Indigenous breeds of bovines:

• Gopal Ratna awards: for farmers maintaining the best herd of Indigenous Breed and practicing best management practices.
• Kamdhenu awards: for best managed Indigenous herd by Institutions/Trusts/ NGOs/ Gaushalas or best-managed Breeders’ societies.
• Gokul Gram: The RashtriyaGokul Mission envisages the establishment of integrated cattle development centers, ‘Gokul Grams’ to develop indigenous breeds including up to 40% nondescript breeds (belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind) with objectives to:
• Promote indigenous cattle rearing and conservation in a scientific manner.
• Propagate high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
• Optimize modern Farm Management practices and promote Common Resource Management.
• Utilize animal waste in an economical way i.e. Cow Dung, Cow Urine
• National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre: (NKBC) is being established as a Centre of Excellence to develop and conserve Indigenous Breeds in a holistic and scientific manner.
• “E-PashuHaat”- NakulPrajnan Bazaar: An e-market portal connecting breeders and farmers, for quality- disease-free bovine germplasm.
• PashuSanjivni: An animal wellness program encompassing the provision of animal health cards (‘NakulSwasthyaPatra’) along with UID identification and uploading data on National DataBase.
• Advanced Reproductive Technology: Including Assisted Reproductive Technique- In-vitro Fertilization (IVF)/ Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET) and sex-sorted semen technique to improve the availability of disease-free female bovines.
• National Bovine Genomic Center for Indigenous Breeds (NBGC-IB) will be established for selection of breeding bulls of high genetic merit at a young age using highly precise gene-based technology.

Implementing Agency

• RashtriyaGokul Mission will be implemented through the “State Implementing Agency (SIA viz Livestock Development Boards).
• State GausevaAyogs will be given the mandate to sponsor proposals to the SIA’s (LDB’s) and monitor implementation of the sponsored proposal.
• All Agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development will be the “Participating Agencies” like ICAR, Universities, Colleges, NGO’s, Cooperative Societies and Gaushalas.

Why conservation of Indigenous breeds is the need of the hour?

• Indigenous bovines are robust and resilient and are particularly suited to the climate and environment of their respective breeding tracts and productivity of indigenous breeds is less likely to be impacted by the adversities of climate change.
• The milk of indigenous animals is high in fat and SNF content (The substances in milk other than butterfat and water in the form of casein, lactose, vitamins, and minerals which contribute significantly to the nutritive value of milk)

Revised version of Rashtriya Gokul Mission –

• The revised version of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and National Livestock Mission (NLM) proposes to bring focus on entrepreneurship development and breed improvement in cattle, buffalo, poultry, sheep, goat, and piggery by providing incentives to individual entrepreneurs, farmer producer organisations, farmer cooperatives, joint liability groups, self-help groups, Section 8 companies for entrepreneurship development and State governments for breed improvement infrastructure.
• The breed multiplication farm component of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission is going to provide for capital subsidy up to ₹200 lakh for setting up breeding farm with at least 200 milch cows/ buffalo using latest breeding technology.
• The entrepreneur will be responsible for the arrangement of and would be able to sell at least 116 elite female calves every year out of this farm from the third year.
• The entrepreneur will also start generating income out of the sale of 15 kg of milk per animal per day for around 180 animals from the first year.
• This breeding farm will break even from the first year of the project after induction of milk in animals.
• Moreover, the strategy of incentivising breed multiplication farm will result in the employment of 1 lakh farmers.
• The grassroots initiatives in this sphere will be further amplified by web applications like e-Gopala that provide real-time information to livestock farmers on the availability of disease-free germplasm in relevant centres, veterinary care, etc.