Goat Unit Scheme on Grants and Bank Loans (Madhya Pradesh)

What is the Goat Unit Scheme on Grants and Bank Loans?

Goat Unit Scheme on Grants and Bank Loans is a self-employment scheme of the Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh, established on 1 August 2008. According to the district administration pages that publish its terms, its stated objective is to improve the economic condition of the beneficiary along with breed improvement, by financing the purchase of a **(10 +

1. goat unit** through a government grant combined with a bank loan.

The unit is exactly what the name says: 10 female goats and 1 buck: one male goat. Beneficiaries are expected to buy animals of good breeds such as Jamnapari, Sirohi or Barbari, so that the buck upgrades the desi goat stock of the household and the village around it. The scheme therefore does two things at once. It hands a landless or near-landless family a productive asset that generates income from milk, meat and the sale of kids, and it improves the genetic quality of the state's goat population one unit at a time.

Goat rearing is a deliberate choice of enterprise for this target group. Goats need no land, browse on common vegetation, reproduce fast, and can be sold in small units when the household needs money. That combination is why the department runs the scheme for landless agricultural labourers, marginal farmers and small farmers rather than for established livestock businesses.

How much does the goat unit scheme give?

The published financing pattern is precise:

Read the structure carefully, because it is the part applicants most often misunderstand. The grant is margin money routed to the bank, not cash paid to the applicant. The department sends the grant to the bank after the bank has sanctioned the loan, and it is adjusted against the loan account. What the beneficiary actually receives is the goat unit. The animals, and a smaller loan liability than the unit cost would otherwise imply.

For a SC or ST beneficiary the arithmetic works out at Rs 46,474 grant plus roughly Rs 7,750 of own money, leaving a bank loan of about Rs 23,200 against a Rs 77,456 asset. For an OBC or general beneficiary the grant is Rs 30,982 and the loan correspondingly larger. The loan carries the bank's normal interest and repayment terms, which the applicant should ask about before signing.

Who is eligible for the goat unit scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Madhya Pradesh.
• You are a landless agricultural labourer, a marginal farmer or a small farmer.
• You are between 18 and 40 years of age. This age band applies to all categories, SC, ST, OBC and general.
• You have prior goat farming experience, which the department treats as an eligibility condition rather than a preference, because the unit is a live asset that fails quickly in inexperienced hands.
• You can arrange the 10 per cent own contribution and are creditworthy enough for a bank to sanction the loan component.
• You have space, shelter and access to grazing or fodder for eleven animals.

You cannot apply if:

• You are under 18 or over 40 years of age. A hard cut-off, and the most frequent reason applicants are turned away.
• You have no goat rearing experience.
• You are a large farmer rather than a landless labourer, marginal or small farmer.
• You are not a resident of Madhya Pradesh.
• You cannot get a bank loan sanctioned, since the grant only moves once the loan does. An applicant already in default to the same bank is normally not eligible in practice.
• You want the grant as cash in hand, that is not what the scheme does.

What documents are required for the goat unit scheme?

How to apply for the goat unit scheme

1. Visit the nearest veterinary institution of the Animal Husbandry Department. The veterinary hospital, dispensary or the office of the Veterinary Assistant Surgeon in your block, and ask for the application form for the (10+1) goat unit scheme.
2. Check the year's target with the office before filling the form. The scheme runs against district targets, and knowing whether slots remain saves weeks.
3. Fill the form and attach the documents, Aadhaar, domicile, age proof, proof that you are landless or a small or marginal farmer, bank passbook, and a caste certificate if you are claiming the 60 per cent rate.
4. Submit the application at the veterinary institution, which forwards it through the district Deputy Director, Veterinary Services, for selection against the target.
5. Approach the bank with the sponsored application and apply for the loan component. The bank appraises you as a borrower; the department's sponsorship does not by itself guarantee a loan.
6. Get the loan sanctioned. On receipt of the sanction, the department sends the grant to the bank, where it is adjusted against the loan account.
7. Purchase the 10 goats and 1 buck of an improved breed; Jamnapari, Sirohi or Barbari; normally in the presence of, or with verification by, the departmental veterinary officer, who checks the age, health and breed of the animals.
8. Get the animals tagged, insured and vaccinated, and keep the purchase receipts and the health records.

How to check the status of a goat unit application

1. Ask at the veterinary institution where the form was submitted whether your name has been selected against the block's target.
2. Ask the Deputy Director, Veterinary Services at the district headquarters for the position of the district list.
3. At the bank branch, ask whether the loan is sanctioned and whether the department's margin money has been received and credited to the loan account.
4. After purchase, confirm that the animals are tagged and entered in the department's records against your name.

Why do goat unit applications get rejected?

• Age outside the 18 to 40 band. A straightforward disqualification.
• No demonstrable goat rearing experience.
• Bank refuses the loan on credit grounds, existing default or lack of documents. This stops the grant too, because the grant follows the loan.
• Own contribution not arranged. The 10 per cent has to be real money.
• Category proof missing where the 60 per cent rate was claimed, in which case the case may be reworked at the 40 per cent rate rather than rejected.
• District target exhausted for the financial year.
• Animals purchased before sanction, or animals not of the improved breeds the scheme specifies, found at verification.

The recoverable failures are documentary. The one that needs preparation is the bank appraisal: go to the branch with a clear idea of shelter, fodder and where you will sell, because a lender that believes the unit will earn is a lender that sanctions.

Key dates and the target cycle

The scheme has run since 1 August 2008 and operates on the financial year cycle, April to March, against district physical and financial targets. No fixed statewide last date is published. Applications made early in the financial year have the best chance, since selection stops once the district target is committed. Purchase of animals is best timed so that the unit is established before the monsoon, when fodder is abundant and kidding losses are lower.

Where to complain about the goat unit scheme

• Veterinary Assistant Surgeon or the veterinary institution where the application was filed, first level for delay or non-response.
• Deputy Director, Veterinary Services at the district headquarters, the officer who holds the district target and the selection list.
• 1962. The Madhya Pradesh veterinary helpline, for animal health support after the unit is established.
• CM Helpline 181, the state grievance line, which issues a trackable complaint number.
• Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Madhya Pradesh, reachable through mp.gov.in, for state-level escalation.

No fee is payable to any official for selection under the scheme. The grant is government margin money that must reach the bank loan account, and any demand for a share of it should be reported to the district Deputy Director.