If you keep cows or have been dreaming of building your own dairy business, the Uttar Pradesh government has just thrown the doors open for you. Under the Nandbaba Dugdh Mission, farmers and cattle rearers can now start their own dairy units. The animal husbandry department has begun accepting online applications on its official portal. This time the scheme comes with several big and important changes, designed so that an ordinary person faces neither administrative hurdles nor a heavy financial burden while setting up a dairy. Anyone rearing pure desi-breed cows will get a subsidy worth lakhs of rupees sent straight to their bank account.
According to Firozabad's Chief Veterinary Officer, the state government is running two special schemes to make cattle rearers self-reliant, the Mini Nandini Yojana and the Nandini Krishak Samriddhi Yojana. To benefit from them, farmers must keep at least 10 pure desi-breed cows on their farm. These include the Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Gir breeds, which have to be bought and brought in from other states. The cattle rearer is also responsible for arranging proper upkeep and fodder for these cows.
No More Hassle of Taking a Bank Loan
The single biggest change is that farmers no longer need to take a large bank loan to avail this scheme. On top of that, the earlier rule requiring a very large piece of land for growing green fodder has also been scrapped. With these new norms, even small and marginal farmers can easily join the scheme and launch their own venture.
Government Bears Half the Cost
The scheme gives cattle rearers a grant of 50 percent of the total project cost, capped at a maximum of ₹11.80 lakh. Firozabad district has been set a target of opening 6 dairy farms this time. Of these, 3 women and 3 men beneficiaries will be selected.
How and When to Apply
Interested cattle rearers can apply online on the official Nandbaba Dugdh Mission portal until June 30. Once the application deadline closes, beneficiaries will be picked through a fully transparent e-lottery. Farmers keen on grabbing this government help would do well to keep their documents ready in advance and apply at the earliest.
