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Animal husbandry & dairying sector to boost rural livelihoods
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Tuesday, 03 February, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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The Union Budget 2026 has placed strong emphasis on the Animal Husbandry and Dairying sector, reaffirming the Government of India’s commitment to improving rural incomes, enhancing livestock productivity, and building a resilient livestock economy. The Budget outlines a series of targeted measures aimed at strengthening animal health services, improving infrastructure, and promoting entrepreneurship across the livestock value chain.
A key focus area is the expansion of veterinary infrastructure, with enhanced support for mobile veterinary units and doorstep animal healthcare services, ensuring timely and quality treatment for livestock in rural and remote regions. These measures are expected to significantly reduce animal mortality and productivity losses, safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods. The Budget also reinforces support for Livestock Farmer Producer Organisations (LFPOs) to improve collective bargaining, market access, and value realisation for livestock farmers.
The dairy sector has received special attention with initiatives to upgrade milk collection networks, processing facilities, and cold-chain infrastructure. These steps aim to modernise the dairy value chain, enhance value addition, and reduce wastage, thereby increasing farmers’ income and strengthening India’s position as one of the world’s largest milk producers.
In line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Budget encourages greater private sector participation, innovation, and technology adoption in animal husbandry. A notable announcement includes a credit-linked capital subsidy scheme to support the establishment of private veterinary and para-veterinary colleges, animal hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and breeding centres, including collaborations with foreign institutions. This initiative is expected to address the shortage of skilled veterinary professionals and improve service delivery.
Additional measures include a credit-linked subsidy programme to promote entrepreneurship in animal husbandry, increased use of AI-driven platforms such as “Bharat Vistar” for informed decision-making, tax deductions on cattle feed supplied by cooperatives, and relief on inter-cooperative dividends. The exemption of biogas value from CENVAT on biogas-blended CNG is also expected to promote biogas plants and sustainable practices.
Together, these initiatives aim to enhance productivity, generate rural employment, and ensure sustainable growth of India’s animal husbandry and dairy sectors.
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