Subsidy Scheme for Establishment of Goat Unit (10+1) for Scheduled Tribe Women

What is the goat unit (10+1) subsidy scheme for Scheduled Tribe women?

The Subsidy Scheme for Establishment of Goat Unit (10+1) for Scheduled Tribe Women is a Gujarat state livestock scheme launched by the Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Co-operation, and delivered on the ground by the Directorate of Animal Husbandry through district veterinary offices. Its stated purpose is to lift economically poor livestock breeders in Gujarat by putting a working, income-producing goat unit in the hands of Scheduled Tribe women.

The unit is defined precisely: 10 female goats and 1 male goat, which is where the "10+1" in the name comes from. The unit cost is fixed at Rs 90,000, and the department pays a 50 per cent subsidy up to a maximum of Rs 45,000. The beneficiary contributes the remaining 50 per cent, which covers food, water, fodder, housing and concentrate feed for the animals.

Goats suit this purpose for a specific reason. A goat unit needs very little land, tolerates the dry scrub grazing common across Gujarat's tribal talukas, starts producing milk and kids within a year, and can be looked after alongside household work. For a household with no irrigated land, eleven goats are a more realistic asset than a milch cow.

Key features

• Unit cost Rs 90,000; subsidy 50 per cent, maximum Rs 45,000.
• Benefit available once in a lifetime, and only one person per family.
• Restricted to Scheduled Tribe women in Gujarat.
• Goats must be bought within 90 days of pre-approval.
• The unit must generally be maintained for 3 years.

Who is eligible for the goat unit scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a woman belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category.
• You are a resident of Gujarat with a valid ST caste certificate issued in the state.
• No other member of your family has already taken this benefit. The entitlement is one person per family.
• You are prepared to contribute 50 per cent of the Rs 90,000 unit cost and to run the unit for 3 years.

Priority within the eligible pool goes to an applicant who is:

• A Scheduled Tribe widow, or
• An abandoned woman.

You cannot apply, or you are not eligible, if:

• You are a man. The scheme is written for women only.
• You are a woman outside the Scheduled Tribe category. SC, OBC and general category applicants are not eligible here and should look at the other animal husbandry schemes listed on ikhedut.
• Another member of your family has already received this goat unit benefit.
• You have already taken this benefit once, it is a once-in-a-lifetime entitlement.
• You are resident outside Gujarat.

What documents are required for the goat unit scheme?

Scanned copies uploaded on ikhedut must be in PDF format and must not exceed 200 KB each. Files larger than that will not attach, which is the most common reason a first-time applicant gets stuck.

How to apply for the goat unit scheme

1. Open the ikhedut portal animal husbandry scheme page at ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and select the goat unit (10+1) scheme for Scheduled Tribe women.
2. Click Apply Newly and fill the application with your personal, caste, residence and bank details, then save it.
3. Use Update Application if you need to correct anything before confirming.
4. Click Upload Documents and upload each required document as a PDF of 200 KB or less.
5. Confirm the application within 7 days of the date you saved it. An unconfirmed application lapses.
6. Take a printout of the confirmed application. Applying online alone does not count as an application. The printout step is mandatory.
7. Sign or thumb-print the printout and submit it, along with the supporting documents, to the nearest veterinary dispensary or the office address printed on the application, within 7 days.
8. Alternatively, scan the signed printout and upload it on the portal under Signed Application Print, using Other Document Upload for the rest.

The concerned officer takes the application inward online only if the documents uploaded are correct and sufficient and the form carries your signature or thumb impression. If wrong or incomplete documents are uploaded, the application is not inwarded, and you must submit the remaining or corrected documents at the concerned office within seven days of applying.

What happens after approval?

1. Pre-approval is issued against your application.
2. You have 90 days from pre-approval to buy the goat unit to 10 female goats aged one to two years and 1 buck aged two to three years.
3. You submit a photograph of yourself with the goat unit as proof of purchase and establishment.
4. Departmental officers verify the unit, and the subsidy of up to Rs 45,000 is released.
5. You maintain a milk production register and produce it whenever a departmental technical officer visits.
6. You run the unit for 3 years in normal circumstances.

If you fail to establish the unit within the 90-day limit, or are found unable to do so, the approval order is cancelled and reassigned to the next beneficiary on the waiting list. That waiting list is real — the scheme is budgeted, so a lapsed approval directly benefits someone else.

How do you check your application status?

1. Log in to ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in and open the application status option under the public scheme section.
2. Enter your application number and the registered details to see whether the form is saved, confirmed, inwarded, pre-approved or rejected.
3. If the status shows saved but not confirmed, confirm it immediately, the 7-day clock is running.
4. For anything after pre-approval, ask at the veterinary dispensary where you submitted the signed printout, or at the district animal husbandry office.

Why do goat unit applications get rejected?

• Application never confirmed within 7 days of saving. The most common failure, and entirely avoidable.
• Printout not submitted. Applying online without submitting the signed printout does not count as an application at all.
• Documents over 200 KB or in the wrong format, so nothing attaches.
• Wrong or incomplete documents, which stops the application being inwarded online.
• Caste certificate not ST, or issued outside Gujarat.
• Another family member has already benefited. The one-per-family rule is checked against household records.
• Bank account not in the applicant's name, so the subsidy cannot be released to her.
• Unit not established within 90 days of pre-approval, which cancels an otherwise successful application at the last step.

The fix for most of these is the same: correct the document and resubmit at the concerned office within seven days of applying, rather than waiting for the next year's window.

Where do you get help?

• Nearest veterinary dispensary. The first and most useful point of contact, because it receives the signed application and knows the local waiting list position.
• District animal husbandry office / Deputy Director (Animal Husbandry) of your district, for approval and subsidy release questions.
• Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Gujarat, doah.gujarat.gov.in, for scheme-level clarification.
• ikhedut portal, ikhedut.gujarat.gov.in, for login, upload and application status problems.

No fee is payable to apply. If anyone offers to "arrange approval" for a payment, that is not part of the scheme; approvals follow the waiting list and the departmental verification process.