Key Highlights
- Total central outlay of ₹3,400 crore for 2021‑22 to 2025‑26, complemented by an extra ₹1,000 crore for the revision.
- One‑off support covering 35% of costs for Heifer Rearing Centres, creating 30 shelters for 15,000 heifers.
- 3% interest subsidy for loans used to procure High‑Genetic‑Merit IVF heifers.
- Enhanced AI network, sex‑sorted semen deployment, and new bull‑production programmes.
- Introduction of genomic tools such as Gau Chip, Mahish Chip and the indigenous Gau Sort technology.
Detailed Insights
The Union Cabinet, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sanctioned the Revised Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) as a Central Sector element of the Development Programmes scheme. The revised financial envelope of ₹4,400 crore is slated for the 15th Finance Commission period (2021‑22 to 2025‑26). By channeling funds toward genetic enhancement, artificial insemination (AI), and in‑vitro fertilisation (IVF) of high‑merit bovines, the mission aspires to lift milk yields, protect indigenous cattle breeds, and raise farmer earnings.
Key operational measures include the establishment of 30 Heifer Rearing Centres, each equipped to house roughly 500 heifers, and an interest subvention of 3% for credit extended by milk‑union cooperatives, banks or other financial bodies to acquire HGM IVF heifers. The AI network will be reinforced with additional semen stations, while a dedicated sex‑sorted semen pipeline (Gau Sort) aims to accelerate breed improvement.
Outcomes recorded over the last decade demonstrate a 63.55% surge in national milk production, with per‑capita availability climbing from 307 g/day in 2013‑14 to 471 g/day in 2023‑24. Approximately 8.39 crore cattle have benefited from the Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme, and 5.21 crore farmers have accessed free AI services across 605 districts. Technological strides such as the Gau Chip and Mahish Chip—genomic arrays developed by NDDB and ICAR‑NBAGR—support precise breed monitoring, while the Gau Sort platform delivers sex‑selected semen for faster herd improvement.
Economically, the scheme targets the 8.5 crore dairy‑farming households, projecting higher milk output and improved livelihoods through systematic scientific interventions in bull production and breed preservation.