.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
To take the idea of gau raksha forward, the Government Of India has now initiated a drive to tag a device with an Aadhaar-like 12 digit unique identification number to all the cows and buffaloes in the nation.
Unlike humans, cows don’t have to wait up in a queue to get one!
What Was the Government Thinking?
The unusual drive was launched to keep a track of cattle so that they can be vaccinated on time and so that technological intervention can increase breeding and milk production.
The government is of the opinion that by 2022, this move will double the income of dairy farmers.
How Does It Work?
Reportedly, technicians have been trained to affix a polyurethane tag inside the ears of cows with a tag applicator. The tag is tamper-proof, can’t be pulled out by tugging and is believed to be long lasting.
Once the tag is fixed, the technician will update the number in an online database and also provide the cattle owner with an 'animal health card' comprising information such as the UID number, owner's details, vaccination dates of the animals and so on.
Unfortunately other animals in the country won’t have this luxury.
Safety First!
Made from thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, the yellow coloured tag has two parts which have to be fixed with the help of a tool in the centre of the cow’s ear lobe. The tag, which comes for a meagre price of Rs 8, weighs just eight grams to cause minimum inconvenience to the animal.
What Are the Statistics?
Currently there are close to 88 million cows and buffaloes scattered across the nation and a team of about one lakh technicians armed with 50,000 tablets were employed to tag every animal.
The Centre has set aside around Rs148 crore for procuring the tags, tag applicators, tablets and health cards.
At present, just around 0.8 to 1 million cattle are tagged in India, reports Business Standard.
The government has fixed targets for all states to completed the task in 2017.
(With inputs from The Economic Times and Business Standard)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)