Even as the Aadhaar card is becoming mandatory for many government schemes and the establishment is bent on making it compulsory for nearly all things, the cattle in Madhya Pradesh are getting a new unique identification system. The state is the third-largest milk producer in the country.
According to the state veterinary department, over 2.5 lakh milch animals like cows and buffaloes have been branded with a special 12-digit unique identification number (UID), which is almost like Aadhaar for citizens. “The plan is to tag all the 90 lakh milk-producing animals in 51 districts, whether in the organised dairy sector or with individual households,’’ said an officer. Nearly 4,000 veterinary workers in the state have been asked to perform the task of tagging animals.
The UID number for these animals will have details about the breed, age, artificial insemination record, lactation capacity and name of owner. This process of identifying milk-giving animals to keep their unified record is being done under a project of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to form a nationwide database called the Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH).
Gulabsingh Davar, joint director and INAPH nodal officer, told reporters that this tagging will help curb both the practice of people leaving their cattle stray and illegal transportation for slaughtering purpose. He said, initially in the first phase, the department has distributed nearly 40 lakh tags with the target of tagging all the 90 lakh animals in the state. So far, 2.5 lakh animals have been tagged. Out of these, 90 lakh animals, cows form a population of 54 lakh.
The UID allotted to an animal will be linked to the Aadhaar number of its owner. This is done to check the illegal sale/purchase, smuggling and abandonment of cattle. Officials say the UIDs will help keep a record of productivity of the animals. This will ascertain in future whether the breed needs some improvement.
The database of animals with their age, breed, lactation information, height, colour, horn type, tail switch and special marks will not only help the owners but government agencies that are bringing new schemes to increase the milk production.