**Executive Summary**
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) annually since 2021. The award aims to encourage dairy farmers rearing indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds, dairy cooperative societies/Milk Producer Companies/Farmer Producer Organizations, and Artificial Insemination Technicians. Nominations are received online through the National Award portal and the awards are conferred on November 26th each year.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA):**
* Conferred annually since 2021 by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under Rastriya Gokul Mission (RGM).
* Recognizes best practices in dairy farming and artificial insemination using indigenous breeds.
* **Categories of Awards:**
* Best Dairy Farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds.
* Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/ Milk Producer Company (MPC)/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organization (FPO).
* Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT).
* **Special Awards:**
* Introduced a special award for North Eastern Region (NER) in 2024.
* From 2025 onwards, Himalayan States are also included along with NER.
* **Award Structure:**
* Winners in each category receive awards up to the 3rd rank, plus one Special Award for NER/Himalayan States.
* NGRA for Best Dairy Farmer and Best DCS/FPO/MPCs consists of a certificate of merit, a memento, and cash prizes:
* 1st Rank: Rs. 5,00,000/-
* 2nd Rank: Rs. 3,00,000/-
* 3rd Rank: Rs. 2,00,000/-
* Special Award (NER/Himalayan States): Rs. 2,00,000/-
* NGRA for Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) consists of a certificate of merit and a memento only.
* **Nomination and Award Ceremony:**
* Nominations are received online through the National Award portal: https://awards.gov.in.
* Awards are conferred on National Milk Day, November 26th, every year.
* **Awards Given Till Date:**
* 21 dairy farmers, including special awards for NER/Himalayan States, have been awarded under the category of Best Dairy farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds.
* **Registered Breeds:**
* Annexed to the document is a list of 53 registered cattle and 20 registered buffalo breeds.
**Impact Analysis**
**Dairy Farmers Rearing Indigenous Breeds**
* **Impact:** Encouragement and recognition for rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds, potentially leading to increased adoption of these breeds and improved dairy production practices.
* **Action Required:** Submit nominations through the National Award portal (https://awards.gov.in) to be considered for the National Gopal Ratna Award.
**Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS)/ Milk Producer Companies (MPC)/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO)**
* **Impact:** Recognition and financial incentives for excelling in dairy production and organization using indigenous breeds.
* **Action Required:** Submit nominations through the National Award portal to be considered for the National Gopal Ratna Award.
**Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs)**
* **Impact:** Recognition for their role in promoting and improving breeding practices using indigenous breeds.
* **Action Required:** Submit nominations through the National Award portal to be considered for the National Gopal Ratna Award.
**Dairy Sector in North Eastern Region (NER) and Himalayan States**
* **Impact:** Enhanced focus and incentives for dairy development activities in these regions.
* **Action Required:** Dairy stakeholders in NER and Himalayan States should consider nominating themselves for the special award category.
Key Entities Referenced
National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA): National award scheme constituted by the Ministry for recognizing dairy farmers rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds, dairy cooperative societies/Milk Producer Companies/Farmer Producer Organizations and Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs)
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: The department conferring the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) under Rastriya Gokul Mission (RGM).
North Eastern Region (NER)/Himalayan States: A special category for awards under the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA).
Rastriya Gokul Mission (RGM): The mission under which the National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA) are conferred.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2607
TO BE ANSWERED ON 16TH DECEMBER 2025
NATIONAL GOPAL RATNA AWARD
2607. SHRI EATALA RAJENDER:
WILL THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
मत्स्यपालन, पशुपालन और डेयरी मंत्री
be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is implementing National Gopal Ratna Awards (NGRA),
constituted by the Ministry for best dairy farmer rearing indigenous cattle / buffalo breeds;
and
(b) if so, the details thereof and encouragement being given target set and results achieved
through such encouragement as on date?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
(SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH)
(a) Yes Sir,
(b) Under Rastriya Gokul Mission (RGM), the Department of Animal Husbandry and
Dairying, Government of India is conferring the National Gopal Ratna Awards
(NGRA) every year since 2021 with the objective of encouraging the dairy farmers who
rear Indigenous breeds of cattle and buffaloes {list of registered breeds (53 cattle and 20
buffaloes) Annexed}, dairy cooperative societies/Milk Producer Companies/Farmer
Producer Organizations and Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs) in the
following categories:
i. Best Dairy farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds
ii. Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/ Milk Producer Company (MPC)/
Dairy Farmer Producer Organization (FPO).
iii. Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT).
A provision of a Special award for North Eastern Region (NER) has also been
introduced in 2024 so as to encourage and boost the dairy development activities.
Further, from 2025 onwards, Himalayan States have also been added along with NER
category. NGRA is conferred to winners up to 1st, 2nd, 3rd ranks and one Special Award
for North Eastern Region (NER)/Himalayan States in each category as mentioned above.
NGRA consists of a Certificate of merit, a memento and cash prize of Rs. 5,00,000/-,
Rs. 3,00,000/, Rs. 2,00,000/- for first, second, third rank respectively and Rs. 2,00,000/-
for Special Award for North Eastern Region (NER)/Himalayan States in the category of
Best Dairy Farmer and Best DCS/FPO/MPCs. In the case of Best Artificial Insemination
Technician (AIT) category, National Gopal Ratna Award consists of a Certificate of
merit and a memento only.
Nominations for National Gopal Ratna Award are received online through National
Award portal i.e. https://awards.gov.in . The Awards are conferred on the occasion of
National Milk Day i.e. 26th November every year.
Till date, total 21 dairy farmers including special Award for NER/Himalayan States
have been awarded under the category of Best Dairy farmer rearing indigenous
cattle/buffalo breeds.
***Annexure
Registered Breeds of Cattle (For NGRA)
S.N. Breed Home Tract
1 Amritmahal Karnataka
2 Bachaur Bihar
3 Bargur Tamilnadu
4 Dangi Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
5 Deoni Maharashtra and Karnataka
6 Gaolao Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
7 Gir Gujarat
8 Hallikar Karnataka
9 Hariana Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan
10 Kangayam Tamilnadu
11 Kankrej Gujarat and Rajasthan
12 Kenkatha Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
13 Kherigarh Uttar Pradesh
14 Khillar Maharashtra and Karnataka
15 Krishna Valley Karnataka
16 Malvi Madhya Pradesh
17 Mewati Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh
18 Nagori Rajasthan
19 Nimari Madhya Pradesh
20 Ongole Andhra Pradesh
21 Ponwar Uttar Pradesh
22 Punganur Andhra Pradesh
23 Rathi Rajasthan
24 Red Kandhari Maharashtra
25 Red Sindhi On organized farms only
26 Sahiwal Punjab and Rajasthan
27 Siri Sikkim and West Bengal
28 Tharparkar Rajasthan
29 Umblachery Tamilnadu
30 Vechur Kerala
31 Motu Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh
32 Ghumusari Orissa
33 Binjharpuri Orissa
34 Khariar Orissa
35 Pulikulam Tamilnadu
36 Kosali Chhattisgarh
37 Malnad Gidda KarnatakaS.N. Breed Home Tract
38 Belahi Haryana and Chandigarh
39 Gangatiri Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
40 Badri Uttarakhand
41 Lakhimi Assam
42 Ladakhi Jammu and Kashmir
43 Konkan Kapila Maharashtra and Goa
44 PodaThurpu Telangana
45 Nari Rajasthan and Gujarat
46 Dagri Gujarat
47 Thutho Nagaland
48 Shweta Kapila Goa
49 Himachali Pahari Himachal Pradesh
50 Purnea Bihar
51 Kathani Maharashtra
52 Sanchori Rajasthan
53 Masilum Meghalaya
Registered Breeds of Buffalo (For NGRA)
Sr.
Breed Home Tract
No
1 Bhadawari Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
2 Jaffarabadi Gujrat
3 Marathwadi Maharashtra
4 Mehsana Gujarat
5 Murrah Haryana
6 Nagpuri Maharashtra
7 Nili Ravi Punjab
8 Pandharpuri Maharashtra
9 Surti Gujarat
10 Toda Tamilnadu
11 Banni Gujarat
12 Chilika Orissa
13 Kalahandi Odisha
14 Luit (Swamp) Assam and Manipur
15 Bargur Tamil Nadu
16 Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarh
17 Gojri Punjab and Himachal Pradesh
18 Dharwadi Karnataka
19 Manda Odisha
20 Purnathadi Maharashtra