For all the noise around cow protection, NDA's cow mission, the very first it announced on assuming power, has nearly died
THIS IS bewildering. More than two years have passed but the Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp)-led government at the Centre, whose leaders sing the virtues of cow and do not shirk from using the animal as an instrument of political warfare, has failed to implement a scheme for the conservation of native cattle breeds.
The programme was originally launched in 2013 during the regime of the United Progressive Alliance II government and was named the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development. In 2014, after the bjp came to power, it renamed the programme Rashtriya Gokul Mission (rgm) and sanctioned ₹150 crore for setting up 15 gokul grams (cattle centres) across the country. But not a single centre can be seen on the ground. Worse, several states have shown disinterest in the programme, while Goa and Rajasthan, two bjpruled states, have bluntly refused to implement it (see ‘No love for cow’). Though 10 states have agreed to set up gokul gram, they are dragging their feet over it, citing inadequate funds and resources.
At gokul gram, the state livestock department is expected to improve the stock and productivity of indigenous cattle breeds, whose population is rapidly decreasing. Between 2007 and 2012, their number declined by 9 per cent, while the number of exotic breeds increased by 20 per cent, shows an analysis of livestock census by Down To Earth. Today, these indigenous breeds constitute almost 80 per cent of the total cattle population in the country, but account for only 40 per cent of the total milk production. rgm also aims to improve the genetic makeup of ordinary indigenous cattle by using semen from bulls of elite breeds, such as Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar and Red Sindhi. For efficient implementation of the scheme, each gokul gram would be spread over 209 hectares (ha) and have 1,000 head of cattle.
This story is from the September 1, 2016 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 1, 2016 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
INVISIBLE THREAT
Significant presence of microplastics in Puducherry’s agricultural soil raises concerns for soil and crop health
Feeding off each other
VEGETARIAN MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE WEST GREW WITH MUTUAL SUPPORT AND VALIDATION
India's unhealthy patent amendments
Despite strong pleas, the Modi regime has changed the rules to impose a cost on those who challenge faulty patents
URBAN DISCOMFORT
Poorly planned, heat-trapping infrastructure, along with dwindling natural spaces, turn up the temperatures in major Indian cities
BLAZING SUN IS ON
Rising temperatures are testing the limits of human tolerance to heat. With their predominantly built-up landscape, urban areas offer no respite. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment on the morphology and heat patterns of nine Indian cities over the past decade shows how these urban centres are turning into heat islands with a potentially serious impact on human health. An analysis by Rajneesh Sareen, Mitashi Singh and Nimish Gupta, with Shagun in Haryana and Kiran Pandey
"H5N1 may be more severe than COVID-19"
In early April, the US confirmed the first case of avian influenza in livestock, along with cow-to-human transmission of the virus disease.
A PSYCHEDELIC HIGH
Driven by surge in global trials and low success rate of current medications in treating mental health problems, researchers call for home-grown clinical trials of psychedelic drugs
Locked out
Two years after becoming the only state to be excluded from the Centre's ruralemployment guarantee scheme, villages in West Bengal grapple with distress migration and debt traps
'Protection from climate change part of right to life'
The Supreme Court of India, on April 5, recognised that citizens have a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change, saying it is intertwined with the fundamental rights to life and equality. Here are the key arguments articulated by the three-judge bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra in their judgement
Weaving dreams
Tribal communities in West Bengal slowly embrace traditional weaving to ensure sustainable livelihood