- Strengthening Dairy Cooperatives and Breed Improvement
- Enhancing Preparedness Against Animal Disease Outbreaks
New Delhi : Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, informed the Lok Sabha that the Government continues to strengthen the dairy and livestock sectors through focused interventions in dairy infrastructure, breed improvement, entrepreneurship promotion and animal health preparedness.
The Government informed that milk procurement prices are determined by dairy cooperatives and private dairies based on prevailing market conditions, and no report has been received by the Department indicating that dairy farmers are not receiving remunerative prices due to the gap between procurement and retail prices.
To strengthen the dairy sector, the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) has facilitated the organisation of 36,611 new Dairy Cooperative Societies and strengthened 34,557 village-level dairy cooperative societies as of June 2026. Around 168 lakh litres per day of milk chilling capacity has been created, while 76,748 milk quality testing devices have been distributed.
Under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), projects with a total milk processing and value addition capacity of 418 lakh litres per day have been approved. The Milk Supply Review Dashboard Portal, integrated with the National Cooperative Database, currently reflects three active dairy cooperative societies in Delhi.
Under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), substantial progress has been achieved in indigenous breed development, genetic improvement and productivity enhancement. Tamil Nadu received Central assistance of ₹12,521.83 lakh during the last three years, fully utilised by the State. The support enabled 36.13 lakh artificial inseminations, strengthening of four semen stations, training and equipping of 475 MAITRIs, establishment of two IVF laboratories, creation of sex-sorted semen facilities, establishment of three Breed Multiplication Farms and assistance for Heifer Rearing Centres.
The Government also highlighted nationwide achievements under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission (NLM) and Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP). During the last five years, over 17.27 crore artificial inseminations have been carried out under the Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme, benefiting nearly 5.98 crore farmers.
A total of 47,687 MAITRIs (Multi-Purpose Artificial Insemination Technicians in Rural India) have been trained, 24 IVF laboratories established, 48 semen stations sanctioned and 28 heifer rearing centres approved. Under the National Livestock Mission, 4,084 breed multiplication farms have been approved, 1.61 lakh metric tonnes of quality fodder seed produced, and 204 silage and Total Mixed Ration units sanctioned. Large-scale vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease, Brucellosis, Peste des Petits Ruminants and Classical Swine Fever continues under LHDCP.
The Entrepreneurship Development Programme under the National Livestock Mission has sanctioned 4,291 projects involving a total project cost of ₹2,956.79 crore with approved subsidies of ₹1,356.53 crore. These projects are expected to generate around 21,000 direct employment opportunities and indirectly benefit approximately 91,000 farmers. The programme is implemented through a fully digitised portal with subsidy disbursement through the Public Finance Management System.
The Government also informed the House that the national mock exercise, Pashujanya Yudh Abhyas (PYA), conducted in Madhya Pradesh from 29 June to 3 July 2026, has been successfully evaluated. The exercise strengthened preparedness for zoonotic disease outbreaks by improving coordination, surveillance, biosafety, laboratory protocols, infection prevention, emergency response and inter-agency communication. The Department continues to support States through disease surveillance, vaccination, laboratory strengthening, standard operating procedures, crisis management plans and capacity building under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme.
