[Answered]Livestock rearing has a big potential for providing non-farm employment and income in rural areas. Discuss suggesting suitable measures to promote this sector in India.

 Livestock sector plays an important role in Indian economy. India has vast livestock resources. India has 56.7% of the world’s buffaloes, 12.5% cattle, 2.4% camel (10^th in camel population in the world) and 3.1% poultry (2^nd largest poultry market in the world). Livestock sector contributes 4.11% of GDP and 25.6% of total Agriculture GDP. Rapid growth of this sector can lead to more egalitarian and inclusive growth. This is because those engaged in it are mostly small landholders and the landless farmers.

Role of livestock in economy:

1. Income: Livestock is a source of subsidiary income for many families in India especially the resource poor who maintain few heads of animals. Cows and buffaloes provide regular income to the livestock farmers through sale of milk. Animals like sheep and goat serve as sources of income during emergencies to meet exigencies like marriages, treatment of sick persons, children education, repair of houses etc. The animals also serve as moving banks and assets which provide economic security to the owners.
2. Employment: A large number of people in India being less literate and unskilled depend upon agriculture for their livelihoods. It provides employment to about 8.8 % of the population in India. The landless and less land people depend upon livestock for utilizing their labour during lean agricultural season.
3. Food: The livestock products such as milk, meat and eggs are an important source of animal protein to the members of the livestock owners. The per capita availability of milk is around 375 g/day and eggs is 74/annum during 2017-18.
4. Social security: The animals offer social security to the owners in terms of their status in the society. The families, especially the landless which own animals are better placed than those who do not. Gifting of animals during marriages is a very common phenomenon in different parts of the country.
5. Gender equity: Animal husbandry promotes gender equality. More than 3/4^th of the labour demand in livestock production is met by women. The share of women employment in the livestock sector is around 90% in Punjab and Haryana where dairying is a prominent activity and animals are stall-fed.
6. Protection against disasters: Livestock are the best insurance against the drought, famine and other natural calamities. Majority of the livestock population is concentrated in the marginal and small size of holdings. Further, agricultural productions get valuable organic manure provided by the livestock.

Important Initiatives by the Government:

1. Rashtriya Gokul Mission: It aims to develop and conserve indigenous breeds of bovine population. This is important to enhance milk production and to make it more remunerative to the farmers.
2. National Livestock Mission: Its objective is to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders.
3. National Artificial Insemination Programme: To suggest novel methods of bringing about impregnation in female breeds. Also, to prevent the spread of certain diseases which are genital in nature, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the breed.
4. National Cattle and Buffalo Breeding Project: To genetically upgrade important indigenous breeds on priority basis with a focus on development and conservation.
5. Animal Husbandry Startup Grand Challenge: To appreciate innovations coming from the villages to expand the dairy sector in India.

Suitable measures to promote Livestock sector in India:

1. Sufficient resources: Providing sufficient fodder and drinking water is the need of hour to increase productivity of livestock rearing in India, in the rain-shadow region.
2. Marketing: Trade Policies like marketing have to be more effective for promotion of various livestock products like egg, fish, milk etc. and providing sufficient price to farmers by reducing influence of middlemen.
3. Promoting indigenous breeds: Our indigenous breed of cattle shall be promoted, because most foreign breed cattle are not suitable to our climate and even provide low quality. There are some exceptions like Jersey cows, but overall introduction of foreign breeds has not been very successful.
4. Training: Necessary training and subsidies shall be provided to farmers to adopt livestock rearing as an alternate source of income.
5. Research and development: Government shall also focus on Research & Development in livestock sector to increase per livestock productivity to provide more benefits to small & marginal farmers.

There is a need to encourage livestock husbandry to reap its full potential. If implied with utmost priority, these advice can boost the production. Thus would further attract the landless and small farmers to take advantage of this sector for sustaining their livelihood and make India competent in the global market.