Milk is an integral part of every household in India. People of every age group consume milk or milk products daily. Therefore, it is crucial that every person gets quality milk. Keeping this in mind, PM Narendra Modi, along with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, announced the implementation of Rashtriya Gokul Mission in December 2014.

This initiative was implemented to conserve as well as develop the indigenous bovine breeds to scientifically improve the production as well as productivity of milk.

Implemented under the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development (NPBBD), Rashtriya Gokul Mission aims to develop and conserve bovine breeds of India. It ensures enhanced productivity and production of milk in a scientific manner that includes improved nutrition as well as farm management.

This scheme helps to meet the growing demand for milk in the country. It also makes dairying more lucrative financially to the rural farmers.

The Rashtriya Gokul Mission scheme will continue from 2021 to 2026 under the umbrella scheme Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojna.

The Rashtriya Gokul Mission Ministry primarily focuses on these objectives –

• Development and conservation of the indigenous breeds.
• Distribution of disease-free bulls with high genetic merit for breeding purposes.
• Enhancing and increasing the productivity and production of milk.
• Upgrading of nondescript cattle using elite breeds like Sahiwal, Gir, Rathi, Deoni, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar.
• Optimising modern Farm Management practices and promoting Common Resource Management.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission focuses on establishing integrated cattle development centres or Gokul Grams. These centres will be established in native breeding regions and near metropolitan cities to house the urban cattle.

Under Rashtriya Gokul Mission, the features of these Gokul Grams are as follows –

• They will be independent and will focus on generating economic resources. This will be done through the sale of organic manure, urine distillates, A2 milk and electricity production from biogas.
• These centres will act as local training centres for MAITRIs, farmers and breeders.
• Gokul Grams will provide farmers in the breeding business with high genetic breeding stock.
• These development centres maintain unproductive and milch animals in the ratio of 40:60. In addition, they can maintain around 1000 animals.
• In Gokul Grams, the house fodder production will provide the nutritional requirements of the animals.

Benefits of Rashtriya Gokul Mission scheme are as follows –

• Enhanced milk production and productivity.
• Conservation and development of Indian breeds of milch cattle.
• Establishment of dairy infrastructure to improve processing, acquisition and marketing.

Women will also benefit from this scheme as more than 70% of the livestock work in this country is done by them.

The State Implementing Agency (SIA) via Livestock Development Boards implements the RGM scheme. All agencies having a role in indigenous cattle development can avail of its benefits.

With the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, India hopes to see a better future for the cattle industry as well as the milk production industry.