Livestock is a major, often underrated, part of India’s rural economy. This article covers its scale and the policy issues around it.
mcqquestion.com
Indian Economy · IndEco0033
Economics of Animal Rearing in India
239 MT
India’s milk production, 2023-24 — up 63% in a decade
#1
World’s largest milk producer
~24%
Share of total world milk supply
471g
Per-capita daily supply (vs. 322g world avg.)
1970s
White Revolution built the cooperative model
Why it matters
Livestock supports millions of rural households, including landless families who own animals but no cultivable land — income that standard crop-focused economic discussion often underweights.
Must Know
- India has one of the world’s largest cattle populations, supporting millions of rural households through milk, draught power, and manure.
- India tracks livestock production and productivity across several outputs: milk, eggs, meat, wool, and fish, each with its own separate policy and market dynamics.
- India is the world’s largest milk producer, a position built up substantially through the White Revolution’s dairy cooperative model, starting in the 1970s.
- Cattle fodder development and distribution is a recurring policy concern, since inadequate fodder supply directly limits how productive livestock can actually be.
Good to Know
- Livestock products make a real contribution to India’s exports, including meat, marine products, and dairy items sold to international markets.
- Livestock services — veterinary care, breeding services, and marketing facilities — determine how much of livestock’s potential productivity actually gets realized on the ground.
- Livestock insurance protects farmers against the financial loss of losing an animal to disease, accident, or natural disaster. It is similar in purpose to crop insurance for crop losses.
- Animal health and welfare standards affect both productivity and, increasingly, export market access, since some importing countries impose their own animal welfare and disease-control requirements.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- India’s livestock policy debates a real trade-off. Native breeds are better adapted to local climate and disease conditions, and often more resilient. Hybrid breeds are typically higher-yielding but more input- and care-intensive, with no universally correct choice across all regions.
- Development of local specific animal breeds aims to preserve and improve native genetic stock suited to particular regional conditions. This is different from uniformly pushing hybrid breeds everywhere, regardless of local fit.
- Livestock’s economic importance is sometimes underweighted in general economic discussion relative to crop agriculture. This is despite the sector’s substantial and growing contribution to rural incomes, especially for landless and marginal households who may own animals without owning cultivable land.
Current Affairs
- India’s milk production reached 239 million tonnes in 2023-24, up 63% over the past decade. (Source: News on AIR)
- India contributes nearly a quarter of world milk supply. Per-capita availability reached 471 grams/day in 2023-24, well above the global average of 322 grams/day. (Source: News on AIR)
Leave a Reply