India’s 2026–27 Budget boosts dairy cooperatives toward Viksit Bharat 2047
Speaking on February 1 in Anand, Dr Meenesh Shah described the Union Budget as transformative for animal husbandry, dairying and cooperatives. He said its measures addressed farmers’ incomes, entrepreneurship and rural employment, linking them to the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
The allocation for animal husbandry and related activities is Rs 6,153.46 crore, 16% higher than in the previous year. A separate Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development, worth Rs 500 crore, will use credit-linked subsidies to expand employment, upgrade livestock businesses and develop combined dairy and poultry value chains. The scheme will also support Livestock Farmer Producer Organisations.
The budget provides for 20,000 additional veterinary professionals. A loan-linked subsidy programme will support the creation of veterinary and paraveterinary colleges, hospitals, laboratories and breeding facilities. The measures cover a livestock population of 53 crore, including 30 crore dairy animals, and include provisions encouraging international collaboration on innovation, according to the NDDB.
Tax treatment for primary cooperative societies has also been widened. Such societies already receive a full deduction on profits from supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits or vegetables produced by their members. The deduction will now cover cattle feed. Primary cooperatives sell about 102 lakh metric tonnes of cattle feed each year, and the NDDB said the change would reduce their tax liability and improve returns to farmer members.
India’s dairy cooperatives currently return more than 75% of the consumer’s rupee to producers, the statement said. Shah also welcomed a provision allowing income from dividends received by one cooperative society from another to be deducted under the new tax regime, provided the income is distributed onward to members. The measure is intended to support investment in multistate cooperatives under the Sahkar se Samriddhi programme.
Notified national cooperative federations will receive a three-year exemption on dividend income from investments in companies made up to January 31st 2026, if the income is subsequently distributed to member cooperatives. The budget also announced a centralised Bio-CNG model under which dairy waste can be converted into transport fuel and organic fertiliser. For calculating central-excise duty on CNG blended with biogas, the full value of the biogas will be excluded. The NDDB said this provision would support larger Bio-CNG projects and the use of organic-fertiliser by-products in natural farming.
