National Livestock Mission: Increasing Livestock Productivity through Entrepreneurship

Table of Contents

• What is the National Livestock Mission?
• What are the Objectives of the National Livestock Mission?
• What are the Sub-Missions under NLM?
  • Sub-Mission on Feed and Fodder Development
  • Sub-Mission on Breed Development of Poultry and Livestock
  • Sub-Mission on Innovation and Extension
• What are the Eligibility Criteria for availing benefits under NLM?
• What is the Subsidy Component Under NLM?
• How to Avail Benefits Under NLM?
• Which New Activities are included in the NLM?
  • Pack Animals
  • Fodder Seed Processing Infrastructure
  • Fodder Cultivation
  • Livestock Insurance
• Conclusion

What is the National Livestock Mission?

The National Livestock Mission (NLM) was launched by the Department of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy in 2014-15. The NLM Scheme aims to generate employment through entrepreneurship development in the poultry, piggery, small ruminants, and fodder sectors. It also aims to increase per-animal productivity and raise the production of milk, meat, eggs, and wool.

The Livestock Sector in India is one of the critical sectors of the Indian economy, helping to boost agricultural growth and improve rural livelihoods. With 536.76 million livestock, India has the largest livestock population in the world (International Year of Cooperatives, 2025). As of Dec 2025, 3843 projects have been approved with total project cost of Rs. 2672.65 Cr. and an approved subsidy of Rs.1233.69 Cr.

What are the Objectives of the National Livestock Mission?

• Animal Productivity: Increase per-animal productivity through breed improvement programmes.
• Livestock Produce: Increase the produce from livestock such as meat, eggs, milk, and wool.
• Employment Generation: Increase direct and indirect employment through entrepreneurship development in poultry, small ruminants, piggery, and fodder sectors.
• Fodder Availability: Reduce the demand-supply gap and increase the availability of feed and fodder through certified fodder seeds, strengthening the supply chain of fodder seeds and establishing fodder processing units.
• Livestock Insurance: Provide livestock insurance to farmers by promoting risk management measures.
• Capacity Building: Provide quality extension services to farmers by strengthening the extension machinery.
• Training: Promote training to enhance skills and disseminate technologies to reduce production costs and improve livestock sector production.

What are the Sub-Missions under NLM?

The NLM Scheme has the three submissions which are discussed below:

Sub-Mission on Feed and Fodder Development

It aims to strengthen the fodder seed supply chain and increase the availability of certified fodder seeds. Through incentivisation, it also encourages entrepreneurs to establish fodder blocks and hay-bailing units.

Sub-Mission on Breed Development of Poultry and Livestock

It focuses on entrepreneurship and breed development in livestock (cattle, pig, goat, and sheep) and poultry birds. To this end, it provides incentives to individuals, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), and Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Sub-Mission on Innovation and Extension

It aims to incentivise Universities and Research Organisations to carry out research related to the sheep, pig, goat, and fodder sector, livestock insurance, innovations, and extension services.

What are the Eligibility Criteria for Availing Benefits Under NLM?

Entrepreneurs and eligible entities can avail themselves of the benefit under the entrepreneurship programme of the NLM upon fulfilling the following eligibility criteria:

• They should have trained experts or have received training in managing and running livestock projects.
• They should have had the loan for the project sanctioned by financial institutions or scheduled commercial banks. Besides, the loan-sanctioning bank should also have appraised the project to determine its validity.
• They should have sufficient experience or have trained experts with adequate experience in relevant fields.
• They should have all the relevant documents to meet the KYC norms.
• They should own or lease land where the project will be established.

What is the Subsidy Component Under NLM?

The NLM Scheme provides a 50% subsidy on capital expenditure to aspiring entrepreneurs for setting up a cattle farm, pig farm, goat farm, poultry farm, and sheep farm. The maximum ceiling on subsidy varies as given below:

• Feed/Fodder Production: Rs. 52.86 crores*
• Pig Farm: Rs. 80.63 crores*
• Small Ruminants (Goat and Sheep) Farm: Rs. 1050.34 crores*
• Rural Poultry: Rs. 49.86 crores*

The subsidy amount to eligible entities and entrepreneurs will be provided by the lending banks and financial institutions (Fis), which will receive the funds from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

How to Avail Benefits Under NLM?

• Visit the Portal: Visit Udyami Mitra portal.
• Check Eligibility: Check your eligibility by answering a few questions.
• Fill the Application Form: Provide basic details and fill out the application form online.
• Check Available Offers: Check offers from lending banks and Fis and get digital approval from selected ones.
• Track Your Application: Track your application on a real-time basis.

Which New Activities are included in the NLM?

The Government of India in February 2024 included three additional activities under the NLM. These are:

Pack Animals

• Provide a 50% capital subsidy up to Rs. 50 lakhs for establishing entrepreneurs who handle pack animals such as donkeys, horses, camels, and mules.
• The central government will provide the state governments with Rs. 10 crores to breed and conserve pack animals.

Fodder Seed Processing Infrastructure

Provide 50% capital subsidy up to Rs. 50 lakhs for establishing entrepreneurs for Fodder Seed Processing Infrastructure such as fodder storage godowns.

Fodder Cultivation

To assist the state governments in promoting fodder cultivation in the non-forest land and wasteland/non-arable land/range land/ forest land. The aim is to increase the availability of fodder.

Livestock Insurance

• The premium share of the farmers is reduced to 15%, as opposed to the existing 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%.
• The remaining premium amount to be shared between the Centre and the State is 60:40 for all states and 90:10 for hilly states.
• The number of animals to be insured has also been increased to 10 cattle from 5 earlier.

Conclusion

The NLM mission aims to generate employment, develop entrepreneurship, increase per-animal productivity, and thus target increased production of meat, goat milk, eggs, and wool. It helps develop the entrepreneur to create the forward and backward linkage for the produce available in the unorganized sector and to link with the organized sector.