The Effect of Government Expenditure on Promoting Livestock GDP and Reducing Rural Poverty in India

Abstract

India's livestock sector is growing and is playing a vital role in the continent's agricultural economy. The 11th Plan and the National Agricultural Policy have focused on livestock to achieve the target growth rate of 4% in the agricultural sector. However, there has been a decline in public investment in both agriculture and livestock. There is a notion that livestock is a neglected sector in terms of investment, and the distribution of investment is also skewed. This paper looks at the status, growth rates and trends of government spending on animal husbandry and dairy, livestock gross domestic product (GDP), investments in agriculture, agricultural GDP and national GDP. The author assesses the effects of government spending on livestock for promoting livestock GDP and reducing poverty, and suggests policy measures to promote investment in the livestock sector.