NLM Subsidy 2026: 50% Livestock Farm Subsidy and Status

The National Livestock Mission (NLM) entrepreneurship programme pays a 50% capital subsidy to people who set up new goat or sheep breeding farms, rural poultry units, pig breeding farms, fodder (silage or fodder block) units and, since 2024, horse, donkey, mule and camel farms. The subsidy is capped by unit size, with a top ceiling of ₹50 lakh, and is paid through SIDBI and your lender in two instalments.

Status as of October 2026: read this carefully before you plan a project. The NLM portal (nlm.udyamimitra.in) carries a notice that beneficiaries who received their first instalment between FY 2022-23 and FY 2025-26 must complete their projects by 31 December 2026 to get the second instalment, and that projects approved on or before 31 March 2026 with no instalment yet must also finish by that date, with "no more extension". The portal still shows an "Apply Here" option, but the scheme's earlier approval was for the period up to 2025-26, and we could not find an official notice on the terms for new approvals in the next period. Check with your State Implementing Agency (usually the state animal husbandry department or livestock development board) that new applications are being sanctioned before you buy land or animals.

Subsidy ceilings under NLM entrepreneurship

These ceilings come from the NLM operational guidelines as circulated by state livestock boards. The subsidy is always the lower of 50% of the actual capital cost and the ceiling for your unit size.

Who is eligible

• Applicants: individuals, FPOs, Farmer Cooperative Organisations, SHGs, JLGs and Section 8 companies. Joint applications can be treated as individual.
• Experience or training: you need training or experience in rearing the animals, usually certified by a local government veterinarian or a recognised training institute.
• Land: you must arrange suitable land, owned or on a registered lease.
• Own contribution: at least 10% of the project cost for bank-financed projects.
• New projects only: expansion of an existing farm is not covered.
• More than one adult member of a family may apply if each meets the criteria, and one applicant can apply for more than one component.

Worked example: a 100+5 goat breeding unit

Suppose your approved project cost for a 100 female + 5 male goat unit is ₹20 lakh (illustrative; use your own DPR cost).

The first instalment is released only after the bank disburses at least 25% of the loan (₹4,50,000 here) and the State Implementing Agency confirms it; the second comes after completion. At an illustrative 10% rate over 7 years:

• EMI on ₹18,00,000 = ₹29,882
• EMI on ₹8,00,000 = ₹13,281

So once the subsidy is adjusted, the monthly burden in this illustration falls by about ₹16,600. If your project cost were ₹25 lakh for the same 100+5 unit, 50% would be ₹12.5 lakh but the ceiling caps it at ₹10 lakh. Try your own numbers in the EMI calculator.

Documents usually needed

• Detailed project report (model DPRs for poultry, piggery, sheep/goat and fodder are on the NLM portal)
• Land document: ownership papers or registered lease deed, with the latest land tax receipt
• Address proof, Aadhaar and PAN
• Photograph of the applicant and of the project site with GIS location
• Bank mandate form with a cancelled cheque and six months' bank statement
• Training or experience certificate
• Educational certificates
• For entities: partnership deed or incorporation certificate, GST registration, list of linked farmers, three years' audited accounts and ITRs

How to apply for NLM subsidy, step by step

1. Confirm the window. Given the December 2026 completion deadline for earlier approvals, ask the State Implementing Agency (SIA) whether new applications are being processed.
2. Apply on nlm.udyamimitra.in with documents and the DPR.
3. Screening by the SIA. The state committee checks eligibility and may ask you to present your DPR.
4. Site verification by state animal husbandry officers.
5. Bank sanction. The SIA recommends the application to a bank; you provide any collateral the bank asks for. Self-financed projects follow a separate route.
6. State and central approval. The State Level Executive Committee and then DAHD's Project Approval Committee approve the project.
7. First instalment of subsidy after at least 25% of the loan is disbursed and verified.
8. Second instalment after full implementation, physical verification and SIA certification.
9. Keep the unit running. You must operate the project for at least three years after completion; it is monitored, including by GIS.

Common reasons NLM subsidy is rejected or recovered

• Existing farm presented as new. Only greenfield projects qualify.
• Unregistered lease or land too small for the unit.
• No training or experience certificate.
• Bank marks the application "not interested" because of a weak DPR or poor credit history. Check your report first with our guide on how to check your CIBIL score free.
• Project not completed by the deadline. The portal warns that incomplete projects can be cancelled and the subsidy already paid recovered with 10% annual interest.

If NLM is not open for new projects when you apply, compare alternatives such as Mudra or PMEGP in our guide to government business loan schemes. For dairy or feed processing plants, the AHIDF interest subvention scheme applies instead.

How to complain

• Application or instalment delay: contact your State Implementing Agency, then DAHD through the contact options on the NLM portal.
• Lender delay: complain to the branch and the bank's grievance officer; if unresolved in 30 days, approach the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in.
• Scheme grievances: file on CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in) addressed to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Applying on the portal is free. Do not pay "consultants" who promise approval, and verify any website before entering your details. Report fraud at cybercrime.gov.in or on 1930.

Key takeaways

• NLM entrepreneurship gives a 50% capital subsidy on new livestock and fodder projects, up to ₹50 lakh depending on activity and unit size.
• Goat/sheep ceilings run from ₹10 lakh (100+5) to ₹50 lakh (500+25); poultry ₹25 lakh; piggery ₹15-30 lakh.
• Subsidy comes in two instalments through SIDBI and your lender, the first after 25% of the loan is disbursed.
• Earlier approvals must be completed by 31 December 2026; terms for new approvals were not confirmed as of October 2026.
• Only new projects qualify, you must run the unit for three years, and you should never pay an agent.