Rashtriya Gokul Mission

A central government mission, running since December 2014, to conserve and develop India’s indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds, genetically upgrade the bovine population, and raise milk production and productivity. It is implemented by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as the Central Nodal Agency.

The mission’s total outlay is ₹3,400 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26) — the original ₹2,400 crore plus an additional ₹1,000 crore the Union Cabinet approved in March 2025.

No. RGM is largely an infrastructure and services mission, not a direct cash-transfer scheme. A farmer accesses its benefits — free artificial insemination, subsidised sex-sorted semen, or the interest subvention on an HGM IVF heifer loan — through the local veterinary/AI centre, milk union or bank, not through an online personal application form.

One, one-time assistance of 35% of the capital cost for Implementing Agencies to set up Heifer Rearing Centres (targeted at 30 housing facilities with about 15,000 heifers). Two, a 3% interest subvention on loans farmers take from banks or milk unions to buy high genetic merit (HGM), IVF-born heifers.

It houses and rears young female calves (heifers) — especially those born through IVF from elite cows — until they are of breeding/calving age, so more high genetic merit female animals become available to ordinary farmers near them.

A farmer who takes a loan from an empanelled bank or milk union to buy a high genetic merit, IVF-born heifer gets 3% knocked off the interest rate on that loan, reducing the effective cost of buying a superior animal.

Yes, in districts covered by the Nationwide AI Programme (NAIP) — a component of RGM that delivers free doorstep AI in districts where the baseline AI coverage was below 50%, using trained technicians called MAITRIs.

Farmers get a subsidy of ₹750, or up to 50% of the cost of sex-sorted semen, on an assured pregnancy under the accelerated breed improvement programme. Sex-sorted semen raises the chance of a female calf, which most dairy farmers prefer.

Yes. Under the accelerated breed improvement programme, a subsidy of ₹5,000 per IVF pregnancy is available as the Government of India’s share, to encourage the use of IVF technology to multiply calves from elite indigenous cows.

Only indigenous (desi) cattle and buffalo breeds and their crosses. Other livestock — poultry, goat, sheep, pig and feed-fodder entrepreneurship units — are supported under the separate National Livestock Mission (NLM), not RGM.

Eligible entrepreneurs — individuals, Self-Help Groups, Farmer Producer Organisations, Farmer Cooperatives, Joint Liability Groups and Section 8 companies — can apply for up to 50% of the project cost as capital subsidy, capped at ₹2 crore, by submitting a proposal on the NDDB’s project portal (eoi.nddb.coop).

A Gokul Gram (Integrated Indigenous Cattle Development Centre) is an RGM-funded facility that brings together cow/calf sheds, a biogas plant, agricultural equipment, a urine-distillation unit and compost/vermicompost pits at one site to conserve and develop indigenous breeds scientifically. Funds have been released for setting up 16 Gokul Grams so far.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and State Livestock Development Boards act as Central Nodal Agencies, while State Implementing Agencies — typically State Livestock Development Boards, State Milk Federations, ICAR institutes, Central Agricultural Universities and Government Veterinary Universities — carry out approved components as Sub-Agencies.

No. RGM is specifically for indigenous breed conservation and genetic upgradation. Exotic-breed dairy development is supported through other dairy-sector schemes, not RGM.

RGM is bovine-specific — cattle and buffalo breed conservation, AI, IVF and heifer development. NLM covers other livestock species (poultry, sheep/goat, piggery) and feed-fodder entrepreneurship with a 50% back-ended capital subsidy. The two are separate, sibling missions under the same department.