National Digital Livestock Mission to Build Unified Livestock Database, Over 35.9 Crore Pashu Aadhaar Issued

The Union government has rolled out the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM) to create a comprehensive, nationwide digital database of livestock and livestock-related services, Parliament was informed on Monday. The initiative is aimed at improving productivity, strengthening disease surveillance, enabling traceability of livestock products and building a farmer-centric digital ecosystem.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajeev Ranjan Singh said the mission has been implemented across all states. 

According to official data, the NDLM has already registered around 9.5 crore livestock owners, while 35.96 crore animals have been issued Pashu Aadhaar, providing each animal with a unique digital identity. The scale of the initiative reflects the government’s push to digitise India’s vast livestock sector.

Bharat Pashudhan Platform 

The digital backbone of the mission is the ‘Bharat Pashudhan’ platform, which operates through mobile and web-based applications used by field workers. Each animal is tagged with a 12-digit bar-coded ear tag, enabling accurate identification and real-time data capture.

Through the platform, field workers record a wide range of activities, including animal registration, artificial insemination and breeding, ownership transfers, vaccinations, disease reporting, milk recording, ration balancing and e-prescriptions. So far, around 4 lakh field worker user IDs have been issued under the system.

The ministry said the platform has already recorded over 146.6 crore vaccination entries and more than 250 crore transactional records, underlining the extensive reach and adoption of the digital framework.

Disease Control and Traceability

One of the key objectives of the NDLM is to improve breeding outcomes tailored to India’s diverse agro-climatic conditions. The system also enables real-time disease monitoring and control, which is expected to strengthen preparedness and response to livestock diseases.

Another major focus is traceability of livestock products, a move expected to support branding, market access and consumer confidence. The traceability mechanism is also likely to benefit exporters and processors by improving compliance with quality and safety standards.

Farmer-centric services through mobile app

To empower livestock owners, the government has launched the ‘1962 Livestock Owner App’, which is integrated with the NDLM database. Through the app, farmers can view details of their registered animals and access information on government schemes and livestock-related services. The earlier e-Gopala application has been merged into this new platform.

Major flagship programmes such as the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and the National Animal Disease Control Programme are already operating through the NDLM, ensuring better convergence and streamlined service delivery.