Gopal Puraskar Yojana (Gopal Incentive Scheme)

What is the Gopal Puraskar Yojana?

Gopal Puraskar Yojana, listed in English on Madhya Pradesh district portals as the Gopal Award Scheme and often called the Gopal incentive scheme, is a milk-yield competition run by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of Madhya Pradesh. The scheme was started on 1 August 2011.

Gopal Puraskar works differently from every other animal husbandry scheme in Madhya Pradesh. There is no subsidy, no loan, no asset transfer. Instead, the department holds a three-tier milk yield competition; block, district and state, for indigenous breed cows and buffaloes, and pays cash prizes to the owners of the highest yielders.

The reasoning is a breeding policy, not a welfare one. Indigenous Indian cattle breeds such as Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Malvi and Nimari have been steadily displaced by crossbred animals because farmers chase higher yield. Gopal Puraskar creates a public, financially meaningful reason to keep and improve a desi animal: if your Gir cow is the best in the state, the state pays you Rs 2 lakh and everyone in the district hears about it. That identifies elite indigenous animals, which the department can then use in its breeding programmes, and it changes what village farmers think a desi cow is worth.

What prize money does the Gopal Puraskar pay?

Prizes are awarded separately for cattle and for buffaloes at each level.

Block (vikaskhand) level

District level

State level

Winners at the block level go forward to the district round, and district winners go forward to the state round. An owner whose animal wins at every level therefore collects the block, district and state prizes in the same season.

Who is eligible for the Gopal Puraskar Yojana?

Your animal can be entered if:

• The animal is of an indigenous Indian breed. Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Malvi, Nimari and other recognised desi breeds qualify.
• A cow yields 4 litres or more of milk in one milking, or a buffalo yields 6 litres or more, at the time of registration.
• The animal is owned by the person registering it, and is in the district where it is being entered.
• The owner belongs to any category. Gopal Puraskar is open to all categories, with no caste, income, land or age restriction.
• The animal is in good health and condition, since upkeep is part of the judging.

Your animal is not eligible and cannot be entered if:

• It is a crossbred or exotic breed animal, Holstein Friesian, Jersey and their crosses are excluded, because the whole point of the scheme is to promote indigenous breeds.
• Its yield is below the qualifying threshold of 4 litres for cows or 6 litres for buffaloes.
• It is not owned by the person entering it. Borrowed or jointly disputed animals are not accepted.
• It is dry, ill or too far into lactation to be measured reliably at the time of the competition round.

What documents do I need to register?

How to apply for the Gopal Puraskar competition

1. Visit the nearest government veterinary dispensary or animal hospital before the block-level round is held, and tell the Veterinary Assistant Surgeon or Veterinary Field Officer that you want to enter your animal for the Gopal Puraskar. Registration is free.
2. Give your details and the animal's details: owner name, Samagra ID, Aadhaar, village, bank account, and the animal's breed, age, lactation number and ear tag number.
3. Present the animal on the day of the block competition at the venue named by the veterinary institution, usually the block veterinary hospital or a designated ground.
4. Allow the committee to record three milkings. The departmental committee measures the milk yield three times and takes the average; that average is the figure your animal is ranked on.
5. Collect the block result. If your animal places, it is forwarded to the district-level round, and a district winner goes on to the state-level round.
6. Receive the prize money in your bank account. Prizes are transferred to the registered account of the owner.

When is the Gopal Puraskar competition held?

The competition is an annual event held in three rounds, block first, then district, then state — and in past years the block and district rounds have been held in the October to December window, with the state round following. Exact dates are fixed each year by the Directorate and communicated through district veterinary institutions and district collectorate announcements. Because dates move year to year, the reliable way to find out is to ask your nearest veterinary dispensary a few weeks before the season, or watch your district's official website.

Why do entries get rejected?

• The animal is a crossbred. Owners often enter a high-yielding crossbred cow assuming yield is the only criterion. Breed is checked first.
• Yield below the threshold on the day of measurement. An animal that gave 5 litres a month ago but has moved into late lactation may not clear 4 litres during the competition.
• Registration missed. Entries close before the block round; there is no late entry once the round is held.
• Ownership not established, or the ear tag on the animal does not match the registration.
• Poor animal condition. Health and upkeep count in the judging, and a visibly neglected animal will not place even with a good reading.
• Bank account details wrong, which does not affect the result but delays the prize transfer.

Where do I complain or ask for details?

• Nearest veterinary dispensary or animal hospital, the registration point and the first place to ask about dates and results.
• District Deputy Director, Veterinary Services, for disputes about measurement, judging or prize transfer at the district round.
• Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Bhopal, helpline 0755-2772262, website mpdah.gov.in.
• CM Helpline 181, the Madhya Pradesh grievance line.

Entry is free at every level. No fee is payable to any officer or intermediary, and prize money is paid only by bank transfer to the registered owner.

How does Gopal Puraskar fit with other MP schemes?

Gopal Puraskar pairs naturally with the Vats Palan Protsahan Yojana, which pays Rs 17,000 over two years to keepers of indigenous cows whose milk yield is 30 per cent above the breed average, for rearing the calf of such a cow. A farmer with an elite desi cow can realistically draw both: a competition prize for the cow's yield and a calf-rearing incentive for her offspring. Between the two, Madhya Pradesh is trying to make keeping a good indigenous animal pay better than replacing her with a crossbred.