Only the Gir Cow Breed is Being Promoted Under Rashtriya Gokul Mission

GS Paper III Indian Economy

Context:

A trend has been found under Rashtriya Gokul Mission, that only the Gir indigenous cow breed is being promoted under it.

India recorded 2.3 million purebred Gir cows in the 2019 livestock census, which is an almost 70 per cent jump from the 2013 estimate of 1.38 million.
The population of Sahiwal stood at 1.88 million in 2019 and its graded variety increased from 3.79 million to 4.07 million between 2013 and 2019.

Objectives
- Development and conservation of indigenous breeds;
- Breed improvement programme for indigenous breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Implementation: Rashtriya Gokul Mission is implemented through the Livestock Development Boards.
The scheme comprises of two components namely:
- National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB)
- National Mission on Bovine Productivity (NMBP).
The scheme is under the umbrella scheme Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojna.

Reasons for focus on Gir indigenous cow as compared to other breeds:

Being a native of the west and central parts of India, Gir cow has the ability to adapt to the entire central belt and northern and southern stretches.
- In contrast, Sahiwal, a native of Northern India or Tharparkar, from the Northwest, does not adapt as well to new environments.

Awards for encouraging farmers/breeder societies to rear Indigenous breeds of Bovines:
- Gopal Ratna awards: For farmers maintaining the best herd of Indigenous Breed(s) and practicing best management practices.
- Kamdhenu awards: For Best managed Indigenous Herd by Institutions/Trusts/ NGOs/ Gaushalas or best managed Breeders’ Societies.
Gokul Grams: These are set up as Integrated Indigenous Cattle Development Centres with the aim of conservation and development of indigenous bovine breeds in a scientific and holistic manner.
National Kamdhenu Breeding Centre: Under RGM, two National Kamdhenu Breeding Centres (NKBC) are being established as Centres of Excellence to develop and conserve Indigenous Breeds in a holistic and scientific manner.
Pashu Sanjivni: An Animal Wellness Programme encompassing provision of Animal Health cards (‘Nakul Swasthya Patra’) along with UID identification and uploading data on National Database;
Advanced Reproductive Technology: Including Assisted Reproductive Technique- In-vitro Fertilization (IVF)/ Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET) and sex sorted semen technique to improve availability of disease free female bovines.