Establishment of Goat Unit (10+1)

What is the Establishment of Goat Unit (10+1) scheme?

Establishment of Goat Unit (10+1) is a livestock self-employment scheme of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Gujarat, which functions under the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation Department of the state government. The scheme funds half the cost of a small commercial goat unit: 10 female goats and 1 breeding buck, so that a household can build a regular income stream from milk, meat and the sale of kids.

The Directorate states two objectives for the scheme. The first is livelihood: enabling individuals to become economically self-reliant through goat rearing. The second is genetic: improving the quality of the state's goat stock by funding a proper breeding buck alongside the does, rather than leaving breeding to whatever male animal happens to be in the village. That is why the unit is described as "10+1" and not simply as eleven goats.

Goat rearing is the animal that state schemes reach for when the target group owns little or no land. A goat unit needs no fodder plot, the animals feed largely on grazing and crop residue, housing can be a simple shed, and the first income arrives inside a year rather than after the three or four years a cattle unit takes to pay back. For a landless family, that difference decides whether a scheme is usable at all.

Key features of the scheme

• Standard of assistance: 50 per cent of the approved unit cost.
• Unit size: 10 female goats plus 1 buck.
• Frequency: once in a lifetime, for one member of a family only.
• Implementing agency: Directorate of Animal Husbandry, through district and taluka veterinary establishments.
• Application route: online on ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in.

Gujarat runs the goat unit as a family of components rather than one scheme. There is a general component, a component funded under the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan, and a component under the Tribal Area Sub Plan, along with women-specific variants. The unit design and the 50 per cent principle stay the same across components; what changes is the budget head the money comes from, the certificate you must produce, and the rupee ceiling notified for that year. Read the ceiling off the live component on i-Khedut and treat any figure quoted elsewhere, including on this page, as indicative only.

Who is eligible for the goat unit scheme in Gujarat?

You can claim assistance if:

• You are a resident of Gujarat.
• You intend to establish or expand a goat unit of the prescribed size and can arrange the applicant's share of the unit cost, from savings or a bank loan.
• No member of your family has already taken this goat unit benefit at any time in the past.
• You hold a bank account in your own name, a barcoded ration card, an Aadhaar card and a government photo identity card.
• You produce the caste certificate that matches the component you are applying under, if you are applying under a reserved component.

You cannot apply, or will not be found eligible, if:

• You are not a resident of Gujarat. The scheme is funded from the state animal husbandry budget and is limited to state residents.
• Another member of your family has already received the goat unit subsidy. This is the hardest rule in the scheme and it is checked against the barcoded ration card.
• You apply under a reserved component without the matching caste certificate. An applicant without a Scheduled Caste certificate cannot be paid from the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan component, and must apply under the general component instead.
• Your bank account is in a different name, is dormant, or the IFSC code does not match the branch.
• You apply outside the open window for the financial year.

There is no published income ceiling for this scheme and no published upper age limit, although a date of birth certificate is a required document.

What documents are required for the goat unit scheme?

Keep both scans and a physical set. The i-Khedut portal takes uploads, and the taluka or district animal husbandry office normally asks for a signed paper set of the same documents when the file is verified.

How to apply for the goat unit scheme on i-Khedut

1. Open ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and go to the schemes section, then select Animal Husbandry as the department.
2. Locate the component for the establishment of a Goat Unit (10+1) that matches your category, and confirm that the window for the current financial year is open. Components on i-Khedut open and close by notification; a listed but closed component cannot be applied for.
3. Register as a new applicant if you have not used i-Khedut before, using your Aadhaar number and mobile number, then log in.
4. Fill the application with your personal details, category, village and taluka, bank account number and IFSC code, and the details of the unit you plan to set up.
5. Upload the scanned documents — Aadhaar, barcoded ration card, bank passbook, date of birth proof, photo identity card, the signed undertaking, and a caste certificate if applicable.
6. Submit the form and print the confirmation. Sign the printout and deliver it, with photocopies of the documents, to the office named on the acknowledgement, within the number of days stated on it.
7. Wait for sanction before buying any animals. Once sanctioned, buy the unit, keep the purchase receipts, and present the animals for verification by the veterinary officer.

How to apply offline through the panchayat or veterinary dispensary

1. Visit your gram panchayat or the nearest government veterinary dispensary with your original documents.
2. Ask the Village Computer Entrepreneur at the panchayat, or the veterinary staff, to file the i-Khedut application on your behalf.
3. Collect the printed acknowledgement carrying your application number, sign it, and hand it in with the document set.

This is the practical route for applicants who are not comfortable with the online form. It also has a side benefit: the veterinary officer at the dispensary is usually the person who will inspect the unit later, so the file starts with someone who knows the case.

How much benefit does the goat unit scheme provide?

The Directorate of Animal Husbandry's published standard of assistance is 50 per cent of the approved unit cost. The applicant funds the remaining half, either from own savings or from a bank loan taken against the unit. The subsidy is not paid in advance; it is released to the applicant's bank account after the unit is established and physically verified.

The rupee ceiling that goes with the 50 per cent rule differs by component and by financial year, and Gujarat has notified different unit costs for different components in the past. The only reliable figure is the one printed against the live component on i-Khedut in the year you are applying. Do not budget against a ceiling you read in a news report or on a private website.

How do I check my i-Khedut application status?

1. Log in to ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in with the credentials you used at registration.
2. Open the application status option and enter your application number from the printed acknowledgement.
3. Read the stage shown; submitted, pending verification, sanctioned, or rejected, and note any remark against your file.

If the portal does not explain a hold, contact the taluka or district animal husbandry office or the government veterinary dispensary covering your village. They hold the physical file and can tell you exactly which document is blocking it.

Why goat unit applications get rejected

• A family member has already taken the benefit, found on the ration card check.
• Signed printout not submitted to the named office within the stated period after online submission.
• Bank details wrong, name mismatch, closed account, or an IFSC that does not match the branch.
• Animals purchased before sanction, leaving nothing to verify against an approved unit cost.
• Caste certificate missing or issued by an authority that is not competent, for applications under a reserved component.
• Blurred or incomplete uploads, particularly the barcoded ration card and the undertaking form.
• Applying after the component window has closed for the financial year.

Fix the specific cause and reapply in the next window. Filing a second application in the same year only creates two incomplete files against the same ration card.

Help and grievance redressal

Raise questions first with the government veterinary dispensary or taluka animal husbandry office that covers your village, then with the District Animal Husbandry Officer. The Directorate of Animal Husbandry publishes district office addresses on doah.gujarat.gov.in, and i-Khedut carries its own help and contact section for registration, login and upload problems.

No fee is charged for making this application. A panchayat operator may charge only the notified data-entry fee for assisted filing, and nobody is authorised to charge you for "getting the subsidy passed".