Livestock Traceability in India: How NDLM and Bharat Pashudhan Are Revolutionizing Animal Management

India has one of the largest livestock populations in the world, and millions of rural families depend on dairy and animal farming for their livelihood. As the sector grows, so does the need for better disease control, improved productivity, and transparent food supply chains. This is where livestock traceability in India is making a powerful impact through the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM) and the Bharat Pashudhan digital platform.

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What Is Livestock Traceability?

Livestock traceability is the ability to track an animal’s identity, health history, breeding details, and productivity throughout its life. In simple terms, it’s like giving every animal a digital profile that records everything from vaccinations to milk production.

This system ensures that farmers, veterinarians, and authorities can monitor animal health and performance more accurately than ever before.

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Why Livestock Traceability Matters in India

 India’s livestock farming is largely managed by small and marginal farmers who often own just a few animals. Because farms are scattered and record-keeping has traditionally been manual, it has been difficult to:

• Track disease outbreaks quickly
• Monitor breeding quality
• Maintain accurate health records
• Build reliable product traceability for consumers

A national digital traceability system helps solve all these challenges by bringing livestock data into one connected platform.

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How Bharat Pashudhan Supports NDLM

Bharat Pashudhan acts as the digital engine behind NDLM. It connects farmers, field workers, veterinarians, breeding centers, and laboratories through a unified livestock database.

Unique Animal Identification

Each animal is assigned a 12-digit identification number through an ear tag. This ID becomes the key to storing all lifetime records — health treatments, vaccinations, breeding services, and productivity data.

Newborn calves can receive a temporary digital ID when immediate tagging isn’t possible, ensuring no gap in health tracking from birth.

Farmer Registration

Livestock owners are digitally registered and linked to their animals. Each farmer gets a unique ID, making it easier to access veterinary services, government schemes, and financial benefits.

Verified Field Workers

Veterinarians and livestock service providers use secure digital logins. Every action they perform — such as vaccinations or artificial insemination — is recorded in the system, ensuring transparency and accountability.

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Digital Services Now Available to Farmers

NDLM enables a wide range of livestock management services:

🐄 Animal Health Monitoring

• Vaccination records
• Disease testing and reporting
• Treatment and surgery history
• Deworming and preventive care

🧬 Breeding and Productivity Tracking

• Artificial insemination details
• Pregnancy diagnosis
• Calving records
• Milk production monitoring
• Genetic improvement data

📋 Animal Lifecycle Records

• Ownership transfer
• Growth tracking
• Health history from birth onward

All this information stays linked to the animal’s unique ID, creating a complete digital health card for every livestock animal.

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Stronger Disease Surveillance

One of the biggest advantages of digital livestock management is faster disease detection. Data entered by field workers and veterinarians helps authorities:

• Identify disease outbreaks early
• Track infection patterns
• Plan vaccination drives more effectively
• Protect both animal and human health

This real-time reporting system strengthens livestock disease monitoring in India and reduces economic losses for farmers.

From Farm to Consumer: Product Traceability

Livestock traceability doesn’t stop at animal health. It also supports farm-to-fork transparency.

Milk and livestock products can be tracked from: Farm → Collection Center → Processing Plant → Retail Market

By linking animal data with production and supply chain records, India can build a reliable dairy traceability system. This improves food safety, boosts consumer confidence, and opens doors to premium domestic and export markets.

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Benefits of Livestock Traceability

✔ Improved animal health and lower mortality

✔ Better breeding and higher productivity

✔ Faster response to disease outbreaks

✔ Greater transparency for farmers and consumers

✔ Easier access to government schemes and financial services

✔ Opportunities for branded, traceable dairy and meat products

The Future of Digital Livestock in India

NDLM is designed as an open digital ecosystem. This means banks, insurance providers, dairy companies, and agri-tech startups can connect with the platform. The result is a farmer-centric livestock digital network that supports innovation, income growth, and long-term sustainability.

India’s move toward animal identification systems and digital livestock traceability marks a major step in modernizing rural agriculture.

Conclusion

The combination of NDLM livestock traceability and Bharat Pashudhan is transforming how India manages animal health, breeding, and food safety. By giving every animal a digital identity and every farmer access to reliable services, India is building a smarter, safer, and more transparent livestock economy.

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