Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), has hailed the Union Budget 2026–27 as a transformative roadmap for agriculture and allied sectors, particularly animal husbandry and dairying. He said the Budget’s focus on boosting farmers’ incomes, promoting entrepreneurship, and strengthening cooperatives aligns closely with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and inclusive economic growth.
Recognised as a key growth engine for rural livelihoods, the animal husbandry sector has received a major boost with an allocation of Rs 6,153.46 crore, marking a 16% increase over the previous year. The Budget has also announced a Rs 500 crore Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development, aimed at expanding employment through credit-linked subsidies, modernising livestock enterprises, building integrated dairy and poultry value chains, and promoting Livestock Farmer Producer Organisations.
To address the growing need for animal healthcare and infrastructure, the Budget proposes the addition of 20,000 veterinary professionals and support for new veterinary and paravet colleges, hospitals, laboratories, and breeding facilities through a loan-linked subsidy scheme. Targeting India’s 53 crore livestock, including 30 crore dairy animals, the initiative also encourages global collaborations to drive innovation in the sector. Dr. Shah termed this a significant milestone for animal husbandry.
The Budget has further strengthened cooperatives by extending the existing tax deduction on profits for primary cooperative societies supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables to include cattle feed. With primary cooperatives selling around 102 lakh metric tonnes of cattle feed annually, this move will substantially reduce their tax burden and improve returns for farmer members. Given that dairy cooperatives already return over 75% of the consumer rupee to producers, the measure is expected to further enhance farmer payouts.
Dr. Shah also welcomed the provision allowing inter-cooperative society dividend income as a deduction under the new tax regime, provided it is distributed to members. This, along with a three-year dividend income exemption for notified national cooperative federations on investments made up to January 31, 2026, is expected to strengthen profitability and support the Sahkar se Samriddhi initiative.
On sustainability, the Budget’s push for the Centralized Bio-CNG model—which converts dairy waste into clean transport fuel and organic fertiliser—was described as a major step forward. The decision to exclude the entire value of biogas while calculating central excise duty on biogas-blended CNG is expected to accelerate the scaling up of large Bio-CNG projects nationwide, supporting circular economy goals and natural farming.
Summing up, Dr. Meenesh Shah said the Union Budget 2026–27 “ticks all the right boxes” by providing a strong impetus to agriculture, dairy, and allied sectors, improving capital efficiency, reducing tax distortions across cooperatives, and ultimately boosting farmers’ incomes and employment opportunities.
