National Livestock Mission: Genetic Improvement of Pig Breeds - Import of Exotic Pig Germplasm

What is the Import of Exotic Pig Germplasm component?

Import of Exotic Pig Germplasm is a component under Genetic Improvement of Pig Breeds within the National Livestock Mission (NLM), run by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The National Livestock Mission is a centrally sponsored scheme, operating since 2014-15 and restructured from 2021-22, that works to improve the genetics, productivity and entrepreneurship base of India's livestock sector. This component addresses one narrow but important need: improving the genetic quality of the country's pig population.

According to the NLM breed-development material, the Central Government assists states in the need-based import of exotic pig germplasm to raise the productivity of non-descript local pigs and produce good-quality crossbred animals with higher per-animal meat yield. The imported superior exotic breeds are maintained as pure breeds in nucleus farms run by the state government, from where improved breeding stock flows down to farmers.

Key features

• The Centre shares the cost of germplasm import with the state government.
• The state must first notify a breeding policy before proposing an import.
• Imported exotic breeds are kept as pure breeds in state nucleus farms.
• This is an institutional, state-level activity: not a direct payment to farmers.

Who is eligible for germplasm import support?

Who can apply / implement:

• State livestock development agencies and livestock development boards.
• State animal husbandry / veterinary departments.
• Institutions authorised by the state to run nucleus pig farms.

The proposing state must have a notified breeding policy and a plan for the nucleus farm where the imported germplasm will be maintained.

Who cannot apply / is not eligible:

• Individual farmers, SHGs, FPOs or private companies cannot apply for a personal benefit under this component. There is no citizen application form.
• Entrepreneurs wanting to build a commercial pig farm should instead look at the Promotion of Piggery Entrepreneur component, which is an individual subsidy.

This is the single point readers most often get wrong: germplasm import is a government-to-government breed-improvement activity, and the benefit reaches farmers indirectly through improved breeding stock, not as a subsidy in hand.

What is the cost-sharing pattern?

The import cost is shared between the Centre and the state. In line with the National Livestock Mission funding pattern, the central share is typically 60% for general states and 90% for North-Eastern and Himalayan states, with the state meeting the balance. The precise share applicable to any particular proposal is fixed by the current NLM guidelines and the approval issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

How to apply for germplasm import support

Because this is not an individual benefit, the "application" is a state proposal routed through official channels:

1. The state government formulates and notifies a breeding policy for pigs, a precondition for any germplasm import proposal.
2. The state livestock agency or animal husbandry department prepares an import proposal / project report setting out the germplasm requirement, source, quantity and the nucleus farm where it will be maintained.
3. The proposal, with import, sanitary and quarantine clearances, is submitted to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the National Livestock Mission.
4. On approval, the central share is released to the state and the germplasm is imported and maintained as a pure breed in the nucleus farm.

Farmers who want improved pigs should approach their state animal husbandry department to access crossbred piglets or breeding stock produced from these nucleus farms.

How this relates to the wider National Livestock Mission

The National Livestock Mission groups several pig-related activities that serve different purposes:

• Import of Exotic Pig Germplasm (this guide); states import superior germplasm to improve the breed base.
• Promotion of Piggery Entrepreneur — a 50% capital subsidy up to Rs 30 lakh to individuals and entities for a commercial pig breeder farm.
• Establishment of State Semen Bank: central assistance to states to store and distribute frozen semen.

Together they cover the breed-improvement chain from imported genetics at the top to commercial farms and semen distribution on the ground. Only the entrepreneurship component is an application an individual files directly.

Help and where to check

• Portal: dahd.gov.in (National Livestock Mission guidelines and orders)
• State nodal agency: your state Animal Husbandry / Livestock Development department is the implementing body for germplasm import
• Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, New Delhi, administers the scheme

Individuals should not pay any agent claiming to arrange a "germplasm import subsidy"; no such individual benefit exists under this component.