ROLE OF VETERINARIANS AND LIVESTOCK SECTOR FOR VIKSIT BHARAT 2047

November 26, 2024

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ROLE OF VETERINARIANS AND LIVESTOCK SECTOR FOR VIKSIT BHARAT 2047

Anu Kumari

Abstract

The vision of “Viksit Bharat 2024” emphasizes a sustainable and thriving rural economy, with the livestock sector playing a critical role. Veterinarians act as key enablers by safeguarding animal health, enhancing productivity, and promoting sustainable practices. Through disease prevention, better livestock management, and guidance on breeding and nutrition, they contribute to food security, public health, and rural incomes.

This article highlights the vital synergy between veterinarians and the livestock sector in driving economic growth, empowering rural communities, and supporting the vision of a developed India by 2024

Keywords:Viksit Bharat, Livestock Sector, Economy, Management, Growth, Productivity.

Introduction:

India i.e. Bharat is the union of states and fusion of various cultures, religions, customs, heritage etc. This makes it an intriguing nation embracing the diversity of this world. Bharat, the name of India was described in the 1950 constitution and has been used as the name of our nation since ancient times. Puranas describe Bharat as the land between snow capped mountains in the north and sea in the south.

Children holding national flag in their hand (Picture credit: istockphoto.com)

The history of independent India or history of republic of India began when the country became an independent sovereign state within the British Commonwealth on 15 August, 1947. India was partitioned into two separate countries which led to the transfer of population of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan. India, from being a relatively struggling country in its formative years, has now emerged as a fast growing G20 major economy.

The economy of India: post independence :

The economic history of the India since 1947 can be divided into two different time periods: 1.1947-91 which saw huge government involvement in the economy, but a slow growth rate in GDP 2.1991–present which saw deregulation and a rapid growth in GDP, and reduction in poverty, involving various reforms

Pre-liberalisation period (1947–1991)

Indian economic policy post independence was under the influence of colonial experience, which was seen as exploitative by Indian leaders. The policies were formulated towards protectionism, with a strong emphasis on import substitution industrialisation, economic interventionism, a large government-run public sector, business regulation, and central planning, while trade and foreign investment policies were relatively liberal. Five-Year Plans of India resembled central planning in the Soviet Union. Steel, mining, machine tools, telecommunications, insurance, and power plants, among other industries, were effectively nationalised in the mid-1950s. The Indian economy of this period is characterised as Dirigisme, which means it was under the control of government.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, along with the statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, formulated and oversaw economic policy during the initial years of the country’s independence. Hoping for favourable outcomes from those strategies, involving the rapid development of heavy industry by both public and private sectors, this included both direct and indirect state intervention, unlike the Soviet-style, which is more based on central command system. The policy of concentrating simultaneously on capital- and technology-intensive heavy industry and subsidising manual, low-skill cottage industries was criticised by economist Milton Friedman, who thought it would waste capital and labour, and retard the development of small manufacturers.

Change in per capita GDP of India, 1820–2015. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 1990 International Geary-Khamis dollars (picture credit: Tables of prof. Angus Maddison 2010)

Since 1965, using of high-yielding varieties of seeds, increased use of fertilisers and improved irrigation facilities collectively contributed to the Green Revolution in India, which improved the condition of agriculture by increasing crop productivity, improving crop patterns and strengthened the forward and backward linkages between agriculture and industry. However, it was also criticised as an unsustainable effort, which resulted in growth of capitalistic farming, ignored institutional reforms and widened income disparities.

In 1984, it was promised by prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to liberalize the economy, for which he made V. P. Singh the finance minister, who tried to reduce tax evasion and tax receipts rose due to this crackdown although taxes were lowered. This process lost its momentum during the later tenure of Mr. Gandhi.

Post-liberalisation period (since 1991)

Two main incidents resulted in a major balance-of-payments crisis for India, one, the collapsed Soviet Union impacted the country’s economy and the second was the Gulf War which led to the spike in oil prices, these incidents eventually led India itself facing the prospect of defaulting on its loans. India asked for a $1.8 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in return demanded de-regulation.

In response, the Narasimha Rao government, including Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, started making economic reforms in 1991. The removed the Licence Raj, reduced tariffs and interest rates and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. Since then, the overall thrust of liberalisation has been continually unchanged since 1991, although no government had tried taking on powerful lobbies such as trade unions and farmers and on contentious issues such as reforming labour laws and reducing agricultural subsidies. By the turn of the 21st century, India had progressed towards a free-market economy, with a substantial reduction in state control of the economy and increased financial liberalisation paving way for more involvement of private sector also. This has been accompanied by increases in life expectancy, literacy rates, and food security, although urban residents have benefited more than rural residents.

In the second decade of this century, the economy of India rose from the ninth-largest to the fifth-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, surpassing the UK, France, Italy and Brazil. The economy had started to slow down in the second term of Manmohan Singh’s tenure but started a recovery in 2013–14 when the GDP growth rate accelerated to 6.4% from the previous year’s 5.5%. The acceleration continued through 2014–15 and 2015–16 with growth rates of 7.5% and 8.0% respectively in the early early years under Narendra Modi’s first term. However the growth rate subsequently decelerated, to 7.1% and 6.6% in 2016–17 and 2017–18 respectively, partly because of the disruptive effects of 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (India)

GDP grows exponentially, almost doubling every five years. (Pic. Credit: Tatiraju.rishabh at English Wikipedia, the copyright holder of this work)

COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath (2020–present)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous rating agencies downgraded India’s GDP predictions for FY21 to negative figures, signalling a recession in India, the most severe since 1979. The Indian Economy contracted by 6.6 percent which was lower than the estimated 7.3 percent decline. In 2022, the ratings agency Fitch Ratings upgraded India’s outlook to stable similar to S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service‘s outlooks. In the first quarter of financial year 2022–2023, the Indian economy grew by 13.5%.

Contribution of livestock sector and agriculture in Indian economy post independence :

India has world’s largest population of livestock. Contribution to GDP: Contribution to total Livestock GVA (at constant prices) was 30.19% of Agricultural and Allied Sector GVA and 5.73% of Total GVA in 2021-22. Employment Generation: Livestock rearing is a major source of livelihood for over 70% of rural households in India, with a significant proportion being small and marginal farmers and landless labourers. Inter-linkages with Agri-activities: Livestock sector is crucial for production of organic inputs like manure and agricultural waste is used as fodder for animals. Food and Nutritional Security: Livestock products such as milk, meat, and eggs are rich in essential nutrients, playing a crucial role in combating malnutrition, especially among children and women. India is ranked 1st in milk production contributing 23% of global milk production.

Poultry farming serves the economically feasible animal protein source from backyard farming to industries. Poultry sector contributes 1% to National GDP in Livestock 14% GDP. Because of Red Revolution we have seen a 2.9% increase in production of meat. Considering all this, poultry farming shows tremendous potential for expansion and employment generation. According to the ICAR vision – 2025, an increase in per capita availability of one egg will generate 50,000 more jobs. The growth potential of poultry sector is bright due to regular flow of income throughout the year in the rural economy of India

What is Viksit Bharat 2047? :

Viksit Bharat 2047 is the current governments roadmap to making India a completely developed nation by 2047; 100 years of independence. Prime minister Modi has stated that the core vision of Viksit Bharat is to foster economic participation among fellow citizen. One of the key components of the goals is to get India be placed at the position of 3^rd largest economies of the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the Council of Ministers during a meeting on vision document for the Viksit Bharat 2047 & detailed action plan for next 5 years, in New Delhi (Photo Credit: PTI)

The vision encompasses various aspects of development, including economic growth, social progress, environmental sustainability, and good governance. The soul of Indian Version of notion of development is emphasised through Hon’ble PM’s Sankalp of Panch Pran, with Viksit Bharat being one of them and of utmost importance. The four pillars of Viksit Bharat are Yuva (Youth), Garib (Poor), Mahila (Women) and Kisan (Framers).

Various initiatives have been taken to accomplish this: Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, Amrit Kaal Vimarsh, and Voice of Youth.

Other steps : The government’s free ration scheme, Ayushman scheme, 80% discounts on medicines, the PM Samman Nidhi scheme for farmers, houses for the poor, tapped water connections, and construction of new toilets will continue at a fast pace. The Union government will provide Rs 75,000 crore as interest-free loan for 50 years to support reforms by states for realising the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’. Interim Budget 2024 : Rs. 11 lakh 11 thousand 111 crore has been allocated for capital expenditure. This will not only lead to the construction of 21st-century modern infrastructure in Bharat, but also create countless new opportunities for employment for the youth.

Constraints :

In agriculture:

Fragmented land holdings with an average farm size of 1.15 hectares and the predominance of small and marginal farmers, with those holding less than 2 hectares
Low price realization: existence of large gap between farm harvest prices (FHP) and retail prices. Prices also tend to fall below the minimum support prices in a good production year, leading to agrarian distress. Mechanisms need to be developed to ensure remunerative prices to farmers, in both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ monsoon years.
Non-farm employment Lack of non-farm employment opportunities has resulted in excessive dependence on agriculture for livelihood among both small and marginal farmers as well as among the landless.
Agricultural credit: Despite an allocation of more than INR 11 lakh crore of commercial credit, access to institutional credit remains a constraint, especially in the case of tenant farmers.
Agricultural trade: Exporters of agro-commodities are not successful in raising their share in global markets because of uncertainty in the foreign trading regime.

In Livestock and fisheries:

Poor Genetic Stock and Low Productivity: Explain issues with breed improvement and productivity.
Health and Disease Management: Highlight lack of veterinary infrastructure and zoonotic disease threats.
Overfishing and Declining Fish Stocks: Discuss unsustainable fishing practices and their impact on marine biodiversity.
Pollution and Habitat Degradation: Explain how water pollution and destruction of fish habitats threaten sustainability.
Lack of Modern Technology: Focus on outdated fishing methods and inadequate post-harvest infrastructure

Way forward :

Breed indigenous cattle with exotic breeds: Breeding of indigenous cattle with exotic breeds needs to be encouraged to manage the issue of inbreeding. This will enable greater gene coverage, reduced diseases and greater resilience to climate change.
Promote and develop bull mother farms: Employing multiple ovulation and embryo transfer technologies, these farms can significantly enhance milk productivity through the supply of cattle with enhanced milk potential to farmers.
Village level procurement systems: Installing of bulk milk chillers and facilities for high value conversion of milk are needed to promote dairy in states. The private sector should be incentivized to create a value chain for HVCs and dairy products at the village level
Convergence of schemes in fisheries sector: Integrate the Blue Revolution scheme with MGNREGA. Ponds created through MGNREGA should be used to promote aquaculture
Land aggregation Encourage states to adopt the Model Agriculture Land Leasing Act, 2016: The Model Act aims to improve land access to small and marginal farmers through land leasing, whilst also providing for a mechanism for tenants to avail of institutional credit.
Marketing reforms Many of the constraints in marketing can be addressed by adopting the Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act (APLM), 2017, which provides for progressive agricultural marketing reforms, including the setting up of markets in the private sector, allowing direct sales to exporters/processors and customers, farmer-consumer markets, e-trading, single point levy of market fee, a unified single trading licence in a state, declaring warehouses/ silos/cold storage as market sub-yards and the launch of the National Market for Agriculture.
Stable export policy: In consultation with all stakeholders, the Government of India should come up with a coherent and stable agricultural export policy
Agriculture advisory service: An effective and technology driven Agriculture Advisory Service may be considered on the lines of those of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the European Union (EU).
Crop insurance: PMFBY needs to be modified to – Promote weather-based insurance. Increase non-loaned farmers’ insurance coverage.
Futures trade: Futures trade should be encouraged. Removal of entry barriers to increase market depth should be considered.
Digitize land records: Complete digitization of land records is a must for effective implementation of land leasing. Geotagging, along with location agnostic online registration of land records to generate updated land records, must be carried out
Promote farmer producer organizations (FPOs): There are now 741 FPOs in the country, managed under the aegis of Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC). They have demonstrated that aggregating farmers can help achieve economies of scale