Granting Agriculture-Equivalent Status to Animal Husbandry to Boost Farmers’ Income – Animal Husbandry Minister Pankaja Munde

State’s Livestock Farmers to Benefit from Concessional Power Tariffs

Mumbai, Oct 2025: The Maharashtra government has decided to grant agriculture-equivalent status to the animal husbandry sector, according to Animal Husbandry Minister Pankaja Munde. Under this new policy, the procedure for providing concessional electricity tariffs to livestock farmers has been finalized, paving the way for them to avail the benefits. This move will give a major boost to animal husbandry activities in rural areas and help increase farmers’ income, the minister said.

The decision will also promote value-chain development for animal-based products, group-based livestock farming on the lines of agriculture, and the use of advanced technology. Earlier, the government had approved that power tariffs for animal husbandry-related businesses be charged under the agricultural category instead of the non-agricultural category. Now, the procedure for implementing this decision has been formally laid out, enabling livestock farmers to avail of concessional electricity rates.

Eligibility Criteria for Concessional Power Tariff

As per the government resolution, the following livestock units will be eligible for the concessional tariff benefit:

• Up to 25,000 broiler (meat) poultry birds or 50,000 layer (egg-producing) birds
• Hatchery units with a capacity of up to 45,000 birds
• Cattle sheds housing up to 100 milch animals
• Goat or sheep sheds accommodating up to 500 animals
• Pig farms with up to 200 pigs

To avail of the benefits, each livestock project must be registered with the District Deputy Commissioner (Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development) and ensure that all animals are registered on the NDLM (National Digital Livestock Mission – Bharat Livestock Portal). The project must also have a separate electricity meter.

The concession can be used for animal shelters, fodder and feed processing, water pumps, machinery used for processing, and cold chain maintenance. However, non-functional projects and defunct cooperative societies will not be eligible for this concession.

Procedure for Availing the Concession

Existing eligible beneficiaries’ details will be provided to MahaVitaran (MSEDCL) by the respective Taluka Animal Husbandry Officers.
New beneficiaries must apply online or offline for a power connection and submit a copy of the application to the Assistant Commissioner (Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development).

At the taluka level, the Assistant Commissioner (Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development) and the Deputy Executive Engineer will act as coordinators, while at the district level, coordination will be managed by the Deputy Commissioner (Animal Husbandry) and the Executive Engineer (MahaVitaran). MahaVitaran is required to maintain a separate record of all eligible beneficiaries availing concessional tariffs.

MahaVitaran will compile data from all districts and forward it to the Commissioner (Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development), Pune, who will then send it to the Chief Engineer (Commercial), MahaVitaran, Mumbai. The Energy Department will subsequently approve and release the required financial assistance.

Minister Pankaja Munde expressed confidence that granting agriculture-equivalent status and offering electricity tariff concessions will bring stability to the animal husbandry sector, reduce production costs, and provide significant economic relief to farmers.