Budget 2026-27 Gives Major Boost to Dairy Sector: NDDB

The Union Budget 2026–27 has delivered a significant policy and financial impetus to India’s dairy and animal husbandry sectors, marking a strategic push to strengthen rural livelihoods, cooperatives and allied dairy infrastructure, according to Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). The Budget’s provisions are expected to reinforce the dairy sector’s role as a key driver of farmers’ incomes and allied employment.

The animal husbandry budget has been raised by around 16%, to ₹6,153.46 crore, signalling enhanced government support for livestock and dairy development, with particular emphasis on boosting farm-level economics and sustainability. A ₹500 crore Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development aims to scale livestock enterprises through credit-linked subsidies, value chain integration and support for Livestock Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), encouraging entrepreneurship and rural job growth.

Under the new plan, the government will add 20,000 veterinary professionals and expand institutions for animal healthcare, including veterinary and para-vet colleges, hospitals, labs and breeding facilities — an effort to strengthen support for India’s 53 crore livestock, including 30 crore dairy animals. The move addresses longstanding gaps in animal health services that directly impact milk productivity and farm viability.

A key fiscal reform extends full tax deductions to primary cooperatives on profits from cattle feed sales, reducing financial burden and improving liquidity. Primary cooperatives reportedly sell about 102 lakh tonnes of cattle feed annually, and this tax relief is expected to boost farmer pay-outs and cooperative sustainability. Additional incentives for inter-cooperative dividends will further strengthen the Sahkar se Samriddhi initiative and support investments across multistate dairy cooperatives.

The Budget also promotes Bio-CNG and circular economy models by excluding biogas value from excise duty calculations — a step expected to scale large-scale dairy waste-to-energy initiatives, reduce costs for dairy enterprises and foster sustainability through organic fertilizer by-products.

Dr. Shah described the Budget as transformative for the cooperative dairy sector and rural farm incomes, highlighting that India’s dairy cooperatives already return over 75% of the consumer rupee to producers. The new provisions are poised to enhance this pay-out further, strengthen milk supply chains and expand employment — signalling strong policy backing ahead of the White Revolution 2.0 agenda.

Source : Dairynews7x7 Feb 3rd 2026 Read full story here

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