Recently in India the nomination for National Gopal Ratna Award – 2024 has started from 15th July.The Department of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has been conferring the National Gopal Ratna Awards every year with the aim of encouraging milk stakeholders. The National Gopal Ratna Awards is one of the highest national awards in the livestock and dairy sector. The Department has incorporated a special award for the North Eastern Region (NER) States to encourage and promote dairy development activities in the North Eastern Region (NER).
National Gopal Ratna Awards
- National Gopal Ratna Awards are given every year to encourage milk producing farmers, dairy cooperatives, milk producing companies, dairy farmer producer organizations and artificial insemination technicians.
- It is given by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the National Gokul Mission (RGM).
- From the year 2021, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is giving the National Gopal Ratna Awards every year on the occasion of National Milk Day on 26th November.
- It aims to encourage milk producing farmers, dairy cooperatives/MPCs/FPOs and artificial insemination technicians (AIT).
Main objective of the Award
- The objective of this award is to promote the conservation and development of indigenous bovine breeds, which are extremely important for providing sustainability to the dairy sector in India.
Other aspects of the award
- Special Recognition: A special award category has been included to encourage dairy development activities in the North Eastern Region (NER) of India.
- Nomination and Recognition: The last date for application to get this award is August 31, 2024. Nominations for NGRA are submitted online through the National Awards Portal.
Award Categories
This award is given in three different categories in India. Which are as follows
- Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cow / Buffalo Breed: The farmer coming first in this category is given a reward of Rs 5 lakh. The second person in this category is given a reward of Rs 3 lakh. The third person in this category is given a reward of Rs 2 lakh. From this year, a special award has been included for the North Eastern Region (NER) states to encourage and promote dairy development activities in the North Eastern region. Under this, a reward of Rs 2 lakh is given under the special award for NER.
- Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/Milk Producer Company (MPC)/Dairy Farmer Producer Organization (FPO): Award will also be given in this category.
- Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT): No cash award is given in this category, but merit certificates and mementos are given.
Rashtriya Gokul Mission
- National Gokul Mission in India was launched in December 2014 for the development and conservation of bovine breeds.
- This mission has been extended from 2021 to 2026 under the National Livestock Development Scheme with a budget of Rs 2400 crore.
Main objective of National Gokul Mission in India
The main objectives of National Gokul Mission are as follows
- To promote the productivity of native bovine breeds: The objective of this mission in India is to promote the productivity of native bovine breeds, so that stability in the number of bovine breeds can be ensured. Advanced technologies are used for this.
- Expanding insemination coverage: Strengthening the breeding network for cattle in India and making artificial insemination services easily accessible to farmers is a major objective of this mission.
- Increasing milk production: Under this, an important goal of the mission is to significantly increase milk production through efficient bovine management practices in India.
- To contribute and increase breeding with high genetic quality: This mission focuses on using bulls with high genetic merit for breeding cattle in India, which contributes and increases the improvement of cattle genetics.
- To provide holistic conservation: This mission is dedicated to the scientific and comprehensive conservation of indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds. Hence, this mission provides holistic conservation to indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds in India.