Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Tuesday, 11 August disclosed that the number of animal husbandry farmers accessing institutional credit through the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme has more than tripled — rising to 50.42 lakh in 2025–26 from 15.08 lakh in 2021–22. The Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying made the announcement in New Delhi, underscoring the Centre's push to bring the livestock sector into the formal credit fold.

Milk Production and Dairy Exports

India's annual milk production reached 247.87 million tonnes in 2024–25, comfortably exceeding domestic demand of 243 million tonnes, according to the minister's statement. On the trade front, total dairy exports stood at $407.18 million in FY 2025–26, reflecting growing international appetite for Indian dairy products. The surplus production margin, while modest, signals that supply-side investments are beginning to outpace consumption growth.

Flagship Schemes Driving Genetic and Yield Improvement

To sustain long-term productivity gains, the Ministry is scaling up two central programmes. The Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), operational since December 2014, focuses on the development and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds, genetic upgradation, and enhancement of milk productivity — with the explicit goal of making dairying more remunerative for farmers. Alongside it, the National Livestock Mission (NLM), running since FY 2014–15, targets scientific breeding, improved fodder quality, employment generation, and entrepreneurship development across the livestock value chain — covering meat, goat milk, egg, and wool production. A key design principle of the NLM, the minister noted, is to build forward and backward linkages between the unorganised and organised sectors, enabling small producers to access larger markets.

Disease Control and Vaccination Support

The Centre is extending 100 per cent financial assistance under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP) to all states and Union Territories for vaccination against economically significant diseases including Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Brucellosis, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), and Classical Swine Fever (CSF). Additional financial support is provided to states on a cost-sharing basis for state-prioritised activities such as vaccination against other livestock diseases, control of emergent and exotic diseases, laboratory strengthening, disease surveillance, and farmer training and awareness programmes.

What This Means for Dairy Farmers

The tripling of KCC coverage in four years is significant: institutional credit has historically been the single largest barrier for small and marginal livestock farmers, who have traditionally relied on informal moneylenders at punitive interest rates. Broader KCC access, combined with production surpluses and rising export revenues, suggests the sector is moving — albeit gradually — toward greater financial inclusion and market integration. How quickly the remaining unbanked livestock farmers are brought into the formal credit system will be a key indicator of the scheme's ultimate reach.