Central Government Schemes for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries

India’s livestock and fisheries sectors are the backbone of rural livelihoods. Together, they support more than 55% of the rural population and contribute significantly to agricultural GDP. Recognizing this, the Central Government has rolled out a comprehensive set of schemes – from breed conservation and disease control to dairy infrastructure and deep-sea fishing – to modernize these sectors and improve farmer welfare. Here is a detailed look at the key schemes and what each one actually does.

Schemes for animal husbandry 🔗

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is the nodal body overseeing most of these programmes. As per a PIB release from August 2025, the Central Government is actively implementing multiple flagship schemes to boost productivity, ensure sustainable growth, and enhance livelihoods in animal husbandry, dairy, and fishery sectors.

National Livestock Mission (NLM) 🔗

National Livestock Mission (NLM) is a centrally sponsored scheme that has been running since 2014-15 and was re-aligned in 2021-22 with a total outlay of ₹2,300 crore. The scheme focuses on employment generation, entrepreneurship development, and enhancing per-animal productivity, targeting increased production of meat, goat milk, eggs, and wool. It operates through three sub-missions: Breed Development of Livestock and Poultry, Feed and Fodder Development, and Research & Development along with extension services. A notable modification in February 2024 added breed upgradation of camels, horses, and donkeys to its scope. Under the breed development sub-mission, the government provides up to 50% subsidy (capped at ₹50 lakh) for setting up poultry, sheep, goat, and piggery units, making it a direct support tool for rural entrepreneurs.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) 🔗

Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) was launched in December 2014 with a singular purpose: the conservation and development of indigenous bovine breeds. The scheme aims to enhance milk production and productivity of bovines to meet growing demand for milk and make dairying more remunerative for farmers. It was extended under the Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojana umbrella for 2021-2026 with a budget outlay of ₹2,400 crore. Key activities under RGM include genetic upgradation through artificial insemination (AI) and IVF technology, establishment of Gokul Grams (integrated cattle development centres housing around 1,000 cattle each), and setting up the National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre as a centre of excellence for indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, and Tharparkar. The Pashu Sanjivini component tags animals with polyurethane identifiers to build a digital productivity database – a crucial step toward data-driven herd management.

National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) 🔗

National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) was launched in February 2014 and restructured in July 2021 for implementation through 2025-26. Its objective is to enhance the quality of milk and milk products and increase the share of organised milk procurement, processing, value addition, and marketing. The scheme has two components. Component A focuses on creating and strengthening primary chilling infrastructure – bulk milk coolers, milk testing equipment – for dairy cooperatives and farmer producer organizations. Component B, funded partly through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), aims to upgrade dairy processing and marketing infrastructure, with initial implementation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Over 16,000 dairy cooperative societies and more than 15 lakh farmers have benefited under this scheme over the last five years.

National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) 🔗

Diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis cost the livestock sector enormous losses every year. The National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) was launched by the Prime Minister in September 2019 to directly address this. It is a flagship scheme with a total outlay of ₹13,343 crore for the five-year period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, targeting 100% vaccination of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig populations against FMD, and 100% vaccination of bovine female calves aged 4-8 months against Brucellosis. The programme is entirely centrally funded, removing any financial burden from state governments. Establishing disease-free zones and creating a robust national surveillance network are integral parts of this programme, which ultimately translates into healthier herds, better productivity, and more stable incomes for livestock farmers.

Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) 🔗

The Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) was launched in December 2017 to accelerate dairy infrastructure development across the country. With a total corpus of ₹10,881 crore, it provides financial assistance to milk cooperatives at an interest rate of 6.5% in the form of loans of ₹8,004 crore to be repaid over 10 years, with the Government providing interest subsidy on top. The scheme is designed to benefit approximately 95 lakh milk producers across 50,000 villages and create both direct and indirect employment for skilled and unskilled workers. Based on recommendations from NITI Aayog and the Department of Expenditure, DIDF has since been merged with the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) into a unified Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) for better operational efficiency.

Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) 🔗

The Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), with a corpus of ₹15,000 crore, targets private sector investment in animal husbandry infrastructure. It facilitates investments in dairy processing, meat processing, animal feed plants, breed improvement technology, breed multiplication farms, veterinary vaccine and drug production facilities, and animal waste management. Eligible entities include Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), private companies, individual entrepreneurs, Section 8 companies, and MSMEs. The scheme provides 3% interest subvention for up to 8 years with no ceiling on credit, and term loans cover up to 90% of project costs. A Credit Guarantee Fund of ₹750 crore has been created with NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt. Ltd. to provide a 25% guarantee on MSME loans. A dedicated web portal (ahidf.udyamimitra.in) manages the entire application-to-disbursement process transparently.

Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO) 🔗

The Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO) scheme was designed specifically to strengthen the organizational backbone of dairy farming. It provides financial assistance to dairy cooperatives and FPOs engaged in dairy activities, helping them access working capital, improve milk procurement logistics, and scale their operations. This scheme recognizes that cooperatives – the AMUL model being the most celebrated example – are the most effective vehicle for connecting small and marginal dairy farmers to national markets and ensuring they receive fair prices.

National Dairy Plan-I and II (NDP) 🔗

The National Dairy Plan Phase I (NDP-I) was launched in March 2012 with World Bank assistance at a total cost of ₹2,242 crore, implemented by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It covered 14 major milk-producing states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, with a focus on increasing productivity of milch animals and expanding the organized milk procurement network. NDP-II continued this trajectory, building on Phase I’s infrastructure to further deepen cooperative outreach, improve breed quality, and strengthen the village-level milk collection system. Together, the two phases laid the groundwork for the cooperative dairy infrastructure that programmes like NPDD and DIDF now build upon.

Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) 🔗

The Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) is a broad umbrella programme covering veterinary healthcare, disease surveillance, and emergency response at the national level. Under the restructured Special Livestock Sector Package from 2021-22, the programme was renamed Livestock Health and Disease Control (LH&DC) and brought NADCP under its umbrella. It funds Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) that provide doorstep veterinary services to farmers – a significant intervention in areas where veterinary infrastructure is sparse. Vaccination drives against Classical Swine Fever (CSF) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) are also conducted under this programme, protecting sheep, goat, and pig populations.

Schemes for fisheries 🔗

India is the third-largest fish-producing country in the world. In FY24, marine products export earnings reached US$ 7.38 billion, with frozen shrimp as the leading export item. The Central Government has deployed several targeted schemes to harness this potential further and secure fishers’ livelihoods.

Neel Kranti Mission (Blue Revolution) 🔗

The Blue Revolution – Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries Scheme (also called the Neel Kranti Mission) was launched in 2015-16 with a central outlay of ₹3,000 crore for five years. The scheme primarily focused on increasing fish production and productivity across inland and marine fisheries. It laid the foundational infrastructure and institutional framework for a sustainable fisheries sector and directly preceded the more ambitious PMMSY. The Blue Revolution also prompted the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in 2019, giving the sector independent administrative focus for the first time.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) 🔗

The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is the most comprehensive fisheries development scheme India has ever launched. Implemented from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25, it carries an estimated investment of ₹20,050 crore for the holistic development of the fisheries sector, including the welfare of fishers. Its key targets include raising fish production from 137.58 lakh metric tonnes in 2018-19 to 220 lakh metric tonnes, doubling export earnings to ₹1,00,000 crore, and generating 55 lakh additional direct and indirect employment opportunities. PMMSY addresses the entire value chain – from fish seed production and aquaculture to harvesting, cold storage, processing, and marketing. It supports modern aquaculture technologies like biofloc farming, cage culture, recirculatory aquaculture systems, and seaweed cultivation. The scheme also aims to reduce post-harvest losses from 20-25% down to around 10% through better cold chain and processing infrastructure. The funding pattern is 60:40 for general states, 90:10 for northeastern and Himalayan states, and 100% central assistance for Union Territories.

A sub-scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana (PM-MKSSY), was launched under PMMSY with an investment of over ₹6,000 crore for FY 2023-24 to 2026-27. Its goal is to formalize the fisheries sector and support fisheries micro and small enterprises, extending institutional credit and aquaculture insurance to small-scale operators who were previously left out of formal financial systems.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) 🔗

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was launched in 2018-19 with a total fund size of ₹7,522.48 crore. Under this scheme, the Government provides interest subvention of up to 3% per annum for a repayment period of 12 years, including a 2-year moratorium on principal repayment. The fund targets infrastructure gaps in fishing harbours, landing centres, cold chain facilities, fish markets, and processing units. State governments, state entities, and cooperatives are eligible to access the fund. FIDF essentially bridges the gap between identified infrastructure needs in the fisheries sector and the ability of states and local bodies to finance those projects on their own.

How these schemes work together 🔗

What makes India’s approach noteworthy is that these schemes are not isolated – they are layered to address different points along the agricultural value chain. Under the Special Livestock Sector Package introduced in 2021-22, all DAHD schemes were restructured into three broad pillars: Development Programmes (RGM, NPDD, NLM), Disease Control Programmes (LH&DC and NADCP), and Infrastructure Development Funds (AHIDF and DIDF merged). This consolidation reduced administrative overlap and improved fund utilization. Similarly, in fisheries, the Blue Revolution laid the base, FIDF funded infrastructure, and PMMSY then built the entire ecosystem – production, technology, processing, marketing, and welfare – into one umbrella scheme. Kisan Credit Card facilities have also been extended to both animal husbandry farmers and fish farmers since FY 2018-19, giving them access to working capital through formal banking channels for the first time.

The livestock sector’s contribution to agricultural output has risen from 24.32% in 2014-15 to 30.87% in 2020-21, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.93%. The value of milk output alone surpassed the combined value of paddy and wheat output in 2020-21 – a figure that underscores just how significant these schemes are not just for farmers, but for the national economy as a whole.

What do you think? Given that India is already the world’s largest milk producer and third-largest fish producer, which area – animal husbandry infrastructure, disease control, or fisheries value chain development – do you think needs the most urgent policy attention to sustain this growth? And with schemes like PMMSY and AHIDF explicitly encouraging private sector participation, do you think the cooperative model will continue to dominate dairy and fisheries, or will private enterprise gradually take a larger share?

References

1. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2152464&reg=3&lang=2
2. https://nlm.udyamimitra.in/
3. https://dahd.gov.in/schemes/programmes/rashtriya_gokul_mission
4. https://dahd.gov.in/schemes/programmes/npdd
5. https://dairy.assam.gov.in/frontimpotentdata/schemes-and-projects-0
6. https://forumias.com/blog/schemes-for-animal-husbandry/
7. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1575279
8. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=190625
9. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-news-analysis/special-livestock-sector-package
10. https://www.ibef.org/government-schemes/pradhan-mantri-matsya-sampada-yojana
11. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=152138&ModuleId=3&reg=3&lang=1
12. https://pmmsy.dof.gov.in/
13. https://vajiramandravi.com/current-affairs/pm-matsya-sampada-yojana/
14. https://www.legacyias.com/centre-to-deploy-national-level-monitors-for-supervising-livestock-schemes/