RASHTRIYA GOKUL MISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Scheme)

Context: Recently, India encountered a unique challenge almost a decade into the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, the country's flagship scheme aimed at enhancing indigenous cattle breeds.

• Instead of improving the quality of all the indigenous breeds, as envisioned under the scheme, it has ended up promoting only one indigenous variety, the Gir cow, across the country.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

• Launched: In 2014 under the National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development (NPBBD).
• Aim: To conserve and develop indigenous breeds in a focused and scientific manner.
• Two Major Components: Research and development of high-quality semen to increase the chances of female calf births.
• The setting up of semen stations to ensure easy access to high-quality semen for livestock rearers across the country.

Objective of Mission

• Development and preservation of native breeds.
• Implement a program for the enhancement of indigenous cattle breeds to elevate their genetic characteristics and boost their population.
• Augment milk output and efficiency.
• Elevate common cattle by introducing superior indigenous breeds such as Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, and Red Sindhi.

Gir Cow

• The Gir cow is a famous Indian-born dairy cattle breed. Gir's cattle native tract is Gir hills and forests of Kathiawar. 
• This includes the Gujarat districts of Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, and Rajkot. 
• This breed was imported by the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.