National Livestock Mission (NLM)

DAHD has implemented the National Livestock Mission since FY 2014-15; the scheme was revised and realigned from FY 2021-22, and the January 2025 comprehensive guidelines consolidate that revision. The Mission targets employment generation, entrepreneurship development, and per-animal productivity, now explicitly covering the production of meat, milk (goat, camel, donkey, sheep), egg, wool, and fodder. Stated objectives:

• •Employment generation through entrepreneurship in the small-ruminant, poultry, pig, camel, donkey, mule, horse, and fodder sectors.
• •Increase per-animal productivity through breed improvement.
• •Increase production of meat (sheep, goat, pig, poultry), milk (goat, sheep, camel, donkey), wool, egg, and fodder.
• •Increase availability of fodder and feed by strengthening the fodder / fodder-seed processing & grading units and seed supply chain.
• •Encourage fodder-processing units; promote risk management including livestock insurance.
• •Promote applied research, capacity building, and skill-based training to reduce cost of production.

The Three Sub-Missions

Eligible Entities (Entrepreneurship Components)

• •Individuals / Entrepreneurs
• •Self Help Groups (SHGs)
• •Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) & Farmers Cooperative Organisations (FCOs)
• •Joint Liability Groups (JLGs)
• •Section 8 companies

Breed-improvement infrastructure (semen stations, State semen banks, nucleus breeding farms, germplasm import) is availed by State Livestock Agencies / Boards, State Animal Husbandry Departments, and ICAR institutes. R&D and innovation assistance is availed by ICAR, Central Institutes, State University farms, credible institutions, and Start-ups.

Eligibility Criteria for Entrepreneurs (Para 5.3)

• •Has training, trained/technical experts, or sufficient experience to manage and run the project.
• •Has secured loan sanction, or furnished a scheduled-bank guarantee with project appraisal.
• •Has own or lease land where the project will be established.
• •Holds all relevant KYC documents.

Eligible Activities Under the Mission

A. Entrepreneurship — Capital Subsidy (Central Sector, via SIDBI, 50%, Two Instalments)

Rural Poultry: 50% capital subsidy, up to ₹25 lakh per unit (min. 1,000 parent layers, Low-Input Technology birds).

Sheep & Goat — 50% subsidy, ceiling ₹50 lakh, on a slab by unit size:

Horse, Donkey & Camel (New) — 50% subsidy, ceiling ₹50 lakh; indigenous breeds only:

Piggery — 50% subsidy, ceiling ₹30 lakh, on a slab by unit size:

Feed & Fodder (Hay / Silage / TMR / Fodder Block) and Seed Processing & Grading plants (New): 50% capital subsidy up to ₹50 lakh each.

Release mechanism (all components): two equal instalments via SIDBI — the first credited to the beneficiary after the bank releases the first loan instalment (SIA-confirmed), the second after completion (SIA-certified). In self-financing mode, release follows verified 25% own-share infrastructure expenditure, and a 3-year Bank Guarantee in favour of DAHD is required for the cost beyond subsidy.

B. Breed Improvement & Conservation Infrastructure (Cost-Sharing)

A breed-registration society for horse, donkey & camel (New) is also supported (studied at State University, then ICAR-NBAGR, for final breed registration).

C. Feed, Fodder-Seed & Land-Based Fodder

100% incentivisation, released in two instalments; where farmers are engaged, 75% is passed to the farmers and 25% retained by the seed agency. Fodder production from forest / non-forest wasteland, rangeland or grassland (New) is assisted up to ₹75,000 per hectare, implemented by the State Forest Department (preferably with Joint Forest Management Committees).

D. Extension & R&D

• •R&D, Innovation & Extension: 100% assistance.
• •Scheme-promotion events: up to ₹1 / ₹2 / ₹3 lakh per event at Block / District / State level (60:40; NER & Himalayan 90:10); Regional and Central events 100%.
• •Training & capacity building: 100% funding.

E. Livestock Insurance — Premium Share (Revised)

The 2025 guidelines simplify the earlier BPL/APL matrix to a single share:

The Central : State split of the 85% is 60:40 for Normal States, 90:10 for NER & Himalayan regions, and 100% Central for UTs. Premium rates are capped at 4.5% / 5.5% (1-yr Normal / NER-Himalayan), 8% / 9% (2-yr), and 11% / 11.5% (3-yr). Veterinarian honorarium (₹50 at insuring, ₹125 at post-mortem) and publicity are 100% Central. Claims must be settled within 15 days, failing which the insurer pays 12% compound interest per annum to the beneficiary.

Under PM-JUGA (mission outlay ~₹79,000 crore across 25 interventions), DAHD commits ₹75 crore (₹15 crore/year for five years, from FY 2024-25) for targeted tribal beneficiaries — Scheduled Tribe FRA Pattadars (Forest Rights Act patta holders), whose list is confirmed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The scope covers ~63,000 villages (population 500+ with ≥50% ST, or Aspirational-District villages with 50+ STs).

Beneficiaries must have taken training in the relevant activity and contribute 10% of project cost; the Central Government provides 90% subsidy:

Subsidy covers procurement of animals/birds, night-shelter construction, six months of feed, veterinary care, and one year of insurance coverage.

1. 1Expression of Interest: The State Implementing Agency (SIA) invites entrepreneurs / eligible entities through an EOI.
2. 2Application: Submitted through the NLM Portal (via SIDBI); until fully functional, manually to the SIA per the application format.
3. 3Scrutiny & loan recommendation: The SIA scrutinises and recommends the application to a scheduled bank / financial institution (e.g. NCDC).
4. 4Bank sanction: The bank appraises and sanctions the loan (or appraises the project, for self-financing).
5. 5SLEC approval: The SIA places the project before the State Level Executive Committee, which confirms State share / beneficiary contribution and forwards to DAHD with the loan sanction uploaded.
6. 6PAC approval: DAHD approves via the Project Approval Committee and funds the subsidy through SIDBI to the lending bank.
7. 7Subsidy release: SIDBI releases the first instalment after the first loan instalment (SIA-confirmed); the second after completion (SIA-certified). Self-financing: first instalment after verified 25% expenditure.
8. 8Follow-up & recovery: The SIA follows up for two years after completion. A dedicated SOP now governs recovery of subsidy on default/diversion.

Fund Flow — How Money Moves

• •Entrepreneurship (Central Sector): subsidy channelized through SIDBI to the lending bank into the beneficiary's subsidy account. DAHD may provide administrative cost to the SIA up to ₹105 lakh yearly.
• •Centrally Sponsored components: released to the State's RBI account; the State transfers to the Nodal / Implementing Agency within 21 days and releases the State share within 40 days (PFMS-mapped).

The scheme is monitored through an MIS with online monitoring and GI tagging of assets, reviewed at National, Regional, and State Review Meetings. States submit quarterly physical/financial progress per the outcome–output framework; the SIA reports on entrepreneur projects half-yearly. Panchayati Raj institutions and Pashu Sakhis are engaged for grassroots feedback, and States are ranked on units established, jobs created, fodder-seed produced, farmers benefitted, animals insured, and timely fund utilisation.