Establishment of 12 Milch Animal Farm (Gujarat Dairy Farm Assistance Scheme)

What is the Establishment of 12 Milch Animal Farm scheme?

Establishment of 12 Milch Animal Farm is a livestock development scheme of the Directorate of Animal Husbandry under the Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation Department, Government of Gujarat. The scheme supports a livestock keeper who wants to move from keeping two or three animals as a household sideline to running a commercial dairy unit of twelve milch animals, cows or buffaloes: as a primary occupation.

Gujarat's dairy economy is built on cooperative milk collection, and the state's animal husbandry schemes are structured to feed into that system. A twelve-animal unit is a deliberate scale: large enough to produce a marketable daily volume for a village dairy cooperative society, small enough for one family to manage without hired labour on a large scale.

The scheme is bank-loan linked. The assistance is not a standalone cash grant; it works alongside a loan from a bank or cooperative credit institution that finances the animals, the shed and the equipment. This structure is common across Gujarat's animal husbandry unit schemes and is the single most important thing an applicant needs to understand before starting.

Key features

• Supports a commercial dairy unit of 12 milch animals.
• Run by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Government of Gujarat.
• Bank-loan linked rather than a pure cash subsidy.
• Applied for through the iKhedut portal, ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in.
• Sanction and physical verification handled at district and taluka level.
• Rates and unit cost are re-notified every financial year.

On amounts: the approved unit cost and the rate of assistance for this scheme are published in the iKhedut scheme notification for the financial year in which applications are invited, and Gujarat revises animal husbandry rates from year to year and by applicant category. This guide deliberately does not quote a figure, because a stale number would be worse than none. Read the current rate from the scheme page on iKhedut, or ask the district Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry, before you commit to a purchase.

Who is eligible for the 12 milch animal farm scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Gujarat and registered on the iKhedut portal.
• You are a farmer or livestock keeper intending to run a commercial dairy unit.
• You can show a site for the farm — land or a shed location, evidenced by a 7/12 and 8-A land extract or an equivalent record.
• You can arrange a bank loan for the unit, since the assistance is tied to bank finance.
• You can produce a workable project report for a twelve-animal unit covering the shed, the animals, feed and fodder, and milking arrangements.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not resident in Gujarat, since this is a state scheme.
• You are proposing a unit of a different size than the one the scheme specifies. Gujarat runs separate schemes for smaller two-animal and larger twenty-animal units, and applying under the wrong component is a common reason a file is returned.
• You cannot obtain bank finance. Where the bank declines the loan, the bank-linked assistance cannot be released.
• You have no site for the shed and cannot establish access to one.
• You have already drawn assistance for the same unit under another animal husbandry scheme, since duplicate benefit for the same asset is not allowed.
• You apply outside the announced window. iKhedut closes each scheme's window on a notified date and late applications are not accepted.

How to apply for the 12 milch animal farm scheme

1. Check that the window is open. Visit ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and look at the scheme list under the animal husbandry section. Each scheme has its own application window with a start and end date announced on the portal.
2. Register on iKhedut as a farmer, or log in if you are already registered. New applicants enter their Aadhaar number, mobile number, district, taluka and village.
3. Approach your bank in parallel for a loan for the twelve-animal unit, and prepare the project report the bank will ask for. Because the scheme is loan-linked, doing this early avoids a stalled file later.
4. Open the application form for the establishment of a 12 milch animal farm, and fill in your personal details, land details, bank account details and the proposed unit details.
5. Submit the online application and note the application number that appears on the confirmation screen.
6. Print the submitted application, sign it, and attach self-attested copies of your Aadhaar card, 7/12 and 8-A extracts, bank passbook, loan papers, project report and, where relevant, your caste certificate.
7. Deliver the signed set to the office named on the printout: normally the taluka or district animal husbandry office, within the time limit stated on the acknowledgement. An online application that is never confirmed on paper is the most common reason an iKhedut file dies silently.
8. Wait for pre-approval before buying the animals. Purchases made before sanction are frequently disallowed at the claim stage.
9. Complete the unit and submit the claim with purchase bills, animal identification details and photographs of the shed, then cooperate with the physical verification visit.

How to apply offline or with help

There is no separate paper-only route; iKhedut is the mandatory front door. Applicants without internet access should:

1. Visit a Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE) at the e-Gram centre or a Common Service Centre and have the operator file the iKhedut application.
2. Approach the taluka Livestock Inspector or the Veterinary Officer, who handle scheme applications locally and can confirm the current documentation list.
3. Contact the District Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry office for the current year's unit cost, category-wise rates and the window dates.

How do I check my application status?

1. Log in at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in with the credentials you registered with.
2. Open the application status option and enter your application number.
3. The status will show whether the application is submitted, whether the signed printout has been received, whether pre-approval has been issued, and whether the claim has been passed for payment.
4. For anything the portal does not explain, contact the taluka animal husbandry office that holds the physical file.

Why applications under this scheme get rejected

• Signed printout never submitted to the taluka or district office after online filing.
• Animals purchased before pre-approval was issued.
• Bank loan not sanctioned, which breaks the loan-linked structure of the scheme.
• Land records not in the applicant's name and no acceptable alternative site document.
• Wrong scheme component chosen, for example applying for the twelve-animal unit when the intended unit is a different size.
• Duplicate benefit already drawn for the same animals or the same shed.
• Application filed after the window closed.
• Physical verification failed because the unit as built did not match the approved project.

Where do I get help or complain?

• iKhedut portal notice board at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in for window dates and the current year's scheme notification.
• Kisan Call Centre 1962, the standard farmer helpline used in Gujarat for agriculture and animal husbandry queries.
• Taluka Veterinary Officer or Livestock Inspector, for local scrutiny and verification issues.
• District Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry, for sanction and payment delays.
• Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Gujarat, doah.gujarat.gov.in, for escalation above district level.

Applying on iKhedut is free. No agent, animal trader or dealer can charge you a fee to get a scheme sanctioned, and no official will ask for your OTP or your bank password.