Republic of India - 20th livestock Census to be conducted from 1st October

[Hindustani78]

28-September, 2018 15:24 IST
20th livestock Census to be conducted from 1st October in all districts of the country

All States and Union Territories to participate


The 20th Livestock Census will be conducted in all districts of the Indian Union in participation with all States and Union Territories. States/UTs have been requested to start the census operations from 1st October, 2018. The success of this novel initiative is dependent on full cooperation and commitment from all States/UTs Governments. The enumeration will be done in all villages and urban wards. Various species of animals (Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun, Yak, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Horse, Pony, Mule, Donkey Camel, Dog, Rabbit and Elephant)/poultry birds (Fowl, Duck, Emu, Turkeys, Quail and other poultry birds) possessed by the households, household enterprises/non-household enterprises and institutions will be counted at their site.

The major thrust of 20th Livestock Census would be data collection through tablets /computers which aims to fulfil the objective of Digital India Programme of Hon’ble Prime Minister. The tablets procured under NMBP Scheme will be used for data collections of 20th Livestock Census for which necessary support has been provided to States under that scheme. A mobile Application software has already been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) for collecting transferring the data online. It is expected that the data collection through Tablets will be of great help in reducing the time gap in data collection, data processing and report generation.

The initiatives on collection of breed-wise reliable information of various species will give vital information for determination of threatened indigenous breeds and to take initiatives for their conservation. Considering this aspect, the 20th Livestock Census would be a breed-wise Livestock Census which will be helpful for framing policies or programmes for breed improvement. Breed-wise information of livestock and poultry will be collected from every survey unit. The breeds of various major species including poultry as registered by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) will be covered in the Livestock Census.

Further, the latest data on fishermen folk are available as per Livestock Census 2003 only. Therefore, the fishery part is a very important component so as to capture the information of fishermen families and infrastructure available for both inland and marine sector.

The Livestock Census has been conducted in the country periodically since 1919 -1920. The Livestock Census usually covers all domesticated animals and headcounts of those animals will be carried out during a specific time period. So far 19 such census have been conducted in participation with State Governments and UT Administrations.

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28-September, 2018 18:26 IST
Twenty Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) centres are being established in the country

Embryo Transfer Technology is highly effective for increasing production and breed improvement

Twenty Embryo Transfer Technology Centres are being established in the country and a proposal of 19 centres has been approved so far.

the foundation laying ceremony of Embryo transfer Technology ceremony of Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) centre in the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BALF), Uruilikanchan, Pune, 3000 high genetic merit bulls of indigenous bovine breeds are being produced from these centres. Two of these centres are to be set up in Nagpur and Pune in Maharashtra.

There is a huge demand of semen from high genetic merit bulls of indigenous bovine breeds. At the same time, the number of certain breeds has decreased considerably and so, ETT can prove to be extremely effective in enhancing productivity and breed improvement. Keeping this in mind, an ETT centre is being set up in BAIF, Urulikanchan and Rs 5.07 crore has been released for this. This centre will produce high genetic merit bovines of Gir, Sahiwal, Lal Kandhari, Dangi, Deoni and Gaolao.

Agriculture and dairy business complement each other for the social and economic upliftment of cattle farmers. To achieve this objective, it is essential to have good quality livestock breed in order to increase production. Under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, 10 semen centres have been identified for the production of Sex Sorted Semen for the production of more female animals. Proposals for two centres, in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra, have been approved. The foundation stone of sex sorted semen centre in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand was laid in June 2018. Besides, INDUSCHIP has been developed for genomic selection of indigenous breeds and 6000 dairy animals have been genetically evaluated using INDUSCHIP. The Minister informed that under the flagship scheme Rashtriya Gokul Mission, the current government till March 2018 has approved projects worth Rs 1600 crore in 29 states out of which Rs 686 crore has been released. 20 Gokul Grams are also being established under this scheme. Apart from this, Under the Pashu Sanjivni component of the scheme, 9 crore milch animals are being identified using UID (Unique Identification Device).

In a separate function, while addressing the inauguration ceremony of National Level Workshop on Nutri-cereals (Millet), the Minister said that nutri-cereals (jowar, bajra, ragi and other small millets) as compared to wheat, paddy, maize etc. have special significance because of their nutritional value. These are used for foodgrain, animal feed and fuel.


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