National Livestock Mission (NLM)

The National Livestock Mission has been implemented nationwide by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying since 2021. Its stated objectives are to raise per-animal productivity, improve genetics, and make quality feed and fodder more available.

For most applicants the relevant part is the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NLM-EDP), which gives a large capital subsidy for setting up a breeding or feed unit. This is one of the more generous subsidies available in the farm sector — 50% of the project cost, as a grant, not a loan.

Scale

1,544 EDP projects were approved with ₹12,300.66 crore of subsidy released in 2024-25, and 1,312 projects with ₹12,471.93 crore in 2023-24. Uttar Pradesh alone had 145 projects approved with ₹32.91 crore of subsidy; Haryana had 13 with ₹4.06 crore.

Livestock insurance

NLM also runs a livestock insurance component. 26.69 lakh animals were insured in 2024-25 with ₹3,651.53 lakh released, up sharply from 9.68 lakh animals in 2023-24. If you keep animals of any value, ask about this — it is cheap relative to the loss of a milch animal.

Capital subsidy: 50% of project cost, up to ₹50 lakh

What the subsidy covers setting up:

• Poultry parent farms, hatcheries, and brooder-cum-mother units
• Sheep and goat breeding farms
• Pig breeding farms
• Feed and fodder units — hay, silage, total mixed ration, fodder blocks and storage
• Camel, horse and donkey breeding farms

Livestock insurance

Insurance cover for animals, with premium support. 26.69 lakh animals were insured under the component in 2024-25.

The PIB release describes the piggery minimum inconsistently — "sows and boars" in one place and "females and males" in another. Confirm the exact unit definition with your state animal husbandry department before costing a piggery project, since the number of animals determines the subsidy band.

Eligible applicants are:

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

An individual can apply — this is not restricted to groups.

Applications are submitted through the NLM EDP portal and are reviewed by the state government, which can mark them eligible, reject them, or return them to the applicant for correction. A returned application is not a rejection; fix what is flagged and resubmit.

• The subsidy is 50% of project cost, capped at the band for your unit size. You fund the other 50%, usually with a bank loan, so you need the bank on board before the subsidy is of any use.
• Subsidy is tied to the unit sizes in the table. A unit below the minimum size for a band does not qualify for that band.
• The PIB release does not set out the full application procedure, documents or deadlines. Get these from your state animal husbandry office.
• Livestock enterprises carry real risk — disease, mortality and feed price swings. Take the livestock insurance component, and get a vet's view on your housing and biosecurity plan before you build.

How to apply

1. Prepare a project report for the unit you want, sized to one of the bands in the table above. The band decides the subsidy, so size the project deliberately.
2. Arrange your 50% share, normally through a bank term loan. Get the bank's in-principle agreement before you apply — a sanctioned subsidy with no matching finance goes nowhere.
3. Apply on the NLM EDP portal. Your application goes to the state government for review, which may mark it eligible, reject it, or return it for correction.
4. Confirm with your state animal husbandry department: the exact unit definition for your category (particularly for piggery, see the note above), the documents required, and any deadline for the current round.
5. Ask about the livestock insurance component in the same visit.

NLM Entrepreneurship Development Programme portal

• Detailed project report sized to a subsidy band
• Land ownership or lease document for the farm site
• Identity and address proof; registration documents for an FPO, SHG, JLG, cooperative or Section 8 company
• Bank in-principle sanction or appraisal for the applicant's 50% share
• Bank account details
• Training or experience certificate, where the state requires it