National Animal Disease Control Programme (2019): India’s Pathway Towards Disease-Free Livestock

Policy Update
Pritha Chowdhary

Background

India has one of the world’s largest livestock populations, making animal health crucial for rural livelihoods, food security and the dairy economy. As per the 20^th Livestock Census 2019, the total livestock population is 535.78 million, including 302.79 million bovines(Press Information Bureau, 2026). The large livestock population underscores the importance of animal health and well-being.

Despite India’s large livestock base, diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis remained major constraints on livestock productivity. FMD affects cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs, reducing milk yield, growth, fertility and working capacity, while also restricting international trade in livestock products. Brucellosis causes abortion, infertility and reduced milk and meat production and, being a zoonotic disease, also poses risks to human health.

To strengthen animal health management, the Government launched the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) in September 2019 to control and eradicate FMD and Brucellosis through nationwide vaccination. The programme targets 100% vaccination of all livestock against FMD twice a year and one-time vaccination against Brucellosis in 4-8 months-old female bovine calves in their lifetime. The programme was approved with a total financial outlay of ₹13,343 crore for the period 2019–20 to 2023–24 (Press Information Bureau, 2019).

Objectives

Mass FMD vaccination of all susceptible bovines and small ruminants every six months.
Public awareness campaigns and orientation of officials for effective programme implementation.
Ear-tagging, registration, and uploading of animal data on the Bharat Pashudhan Portal (NDLM).
Sero-surveillance and monitoring through pre- and post-vaccination sample testing.
Procurement of vaccines and cold-chain equipment to ensure quality delivery.
Outbreak investigation, virus isolation and typing, and regulation of animal movement through quarantine and check-posts.
Continuous data generation, monitoring, and impact evaluation.
Remuneration to vaccinators, with a minimum of ₹3 per vaccination dose.

Functioning

The National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) functions through a combination of mass vaccination, animal identification, disease surveillance, laboratory testing and regulation of livestock movement. Under the programme, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs are vaccinated against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) at six-monthly intervals, while female bovine calves aged 4–8 months receive a once-in-a-lifetime vaccination against Brucellosis (DAHD, 2026).

Before vaccination, the targeted animals are dewormed, and vaccinated animals are identified through ear-tagging and their details are recorded digitally. Initially, this information was uploaded to the Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH); the system has subsequently been integrated with the Bharat Pashudhan Portal, strengthening animal-level traceability and vaccination monitoring. The programme also maintains the vaccine cold chain, conducts pre- and post-vaccination testing, and carries out sero-surveillance and sero-monitoring to assess disease exposure and immunity levels.

In the event of an outbreak, veterinary authorities investigate the disease, undertake virus isolation and typing, and regulate animal movement through quarantine and check-posts to prevent further transmission. Public-awareness campaigns at national, state, block and village levels are also undertaken to encourage livestock owners to participate in vaccination drives. Overall, NADCP therefore follows a preventive and surveillance-based approach, combining vaccination with digital tracking, laboratory surveillance and outbreak management to progressively control and ultimately eradicate FMD while controlling Brucellosis.

Performance

The National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) has demonstrated strong performance in terms of programme implementation, vaccination coverage, disease surveillance and strengthening of animal-health infrastructure. The programme has administered 147.16 crore FMD vaccine doses, benefiting 8.04 crore farmers. Seromonitoring indicates improved population immunity following vaccination.

For FMD serotypes O, A and Asia-1, protective antibody titres increased from 68.0%, 63.6% and 66.0%, respectively, in the previous round to 82.3%, 76.7% and 78.7%, respectively, in the latest round reported by the Government. The programme has also expanded its digital and last-mile veterinary infrastructure, with more than 39.00 crore livestock registered on the Bharat Pashudhan Portal. In addition, 4,019 Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs) operating across 29 States and Union Territories have provided doorstep veterinary services to 136 lakh farmers and treated 276 lakh animals.

These achievements demonstrate the programme’s large-scale implementation, improved monitoring capacity and wider delivery of animal-health services(Press Information Bureau, 2026). The programme has also contributed to a more coordinated and data-driven approach to disease control through systematic vaccination, surveillance and digital livestock tracking. The strengthening of veterinary outreach and real-time reporting mechanisms has improved the ability to identify and respond to disease risks at the field level.

Impact

The programme’s impact is reflected in the reduction in disease incidence and reduced circulation of FMD, although these outcomes should be interpreted alongside other livestock-health interventions. Reported FMD outbreaks declined from 132 in 2019 to 40 in 2025, while Brucellosis outbreaks fell from 22 in 2019 to 15 in 2025. The NSP antibody prevalence for FMD, an indicator of virus circulation and exposure, declined from 20.8% in 2019 to 8.1% in 2025, suggesting reduced viral circulation alongside strengthened population immunity. Furthermore, there has been no reported FMD outbreak caused by serotype Asia-1 for the last three years, indicating substantial progress in controlling this serotype.

The broader livestock-health ecosystem has also contributed to improvements in productivity: indigenous and non-descript cattle productivity increased from 927 kg per animal per year in 2014-15 to 1,343.2 kg in 2024-25, a 44.89% increase, while buffalo productivity increased by 25.80% over the same period. Overall bovine productivity rose by 36.63%, while India’s milk production increased from 146.31 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 247.87 million tonnes in 2024-25, a 69.4% increase (Press information Bureau, 2025).

However, these productivity and milk-production gains cannot be attributed solely to NADCP, as breeding, nutrition, dairy infrastructure and other government interventions also contribute to these outcomes. Overall, NADCP has contributed to a more disease-secure livestock sector through sustained disease control, improved immunity, reduced viral circulation and stronger animal-health systems.

Emerging Issues

Despite the progress made under the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), several emerging issues continue to affect its long-term effectiveness. Maintaining high and uniform vaccination coverage remains a major challenge, particularly in remote, rural and migratory livestock populations, where last-mile delivery and timely vaccination can be difficult. The movement of pastoral sheep and goats across regions also creates additional pathways for disease transmission, which has led the programme to extend FMD vaccination to migratory populations since 2024.

Another important issue is the continued persistence of Brucellosis indicating progress but also showing that complete control has not yet been achieved. FMD virus variation and vaccine matching also require continuous surveillance because different serotypes and changing viral strains can affect vaccine effectiveness. In addition, effective disease control depends on strong veterinary infrastructure, cold-chain facilities, laboratory capacity and real-time disease reporting, particularly at the last mile.

The increasing need for digital traceability and data integration is another emerging concern; strengthening platforms such as the Bharat Pashudhan Portal can improve animal identification, vaccination tracking and disease surveillance. Finally, India needs stronger evidence on the programme’s actual economic and productivity impacts, since the Government has noted that no specific study has yet established the effect of NADCP vaccination alone on livestock productivity.

Way Forward

Going forward, the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) should focus on moving beyond vaccination targets towards sustained disease control and eventual eradication, particularly for FMD by 2030. This requires maintaining high and uniform vaccination coverage, especially among remote and migratory livestock populations, while strengthening real-time disease surveillance, laboratory testing and genomic monitoring to identify circulating virus strains and ensure appropriate vaccine matching.

The existing system of animal ear-tagging and digital health records should be further strengthened to improve animal traceability, vaccination tracking and monitoring of livestock movement. Since Brucellosis continues to pose a challenge, greater emphasis should be placed on early detection, surveillance and targeted control in high-risk areas. Veterinary infrastructure, cold-chain facilities and last-mile delivery of vaccines should also be strengthened, alongside greater farmer awareness and participation.

Importantly, future evaluations should measure not only vaccination coverage and disease outbreaks but also changes in livestock productivity, farmer income and economic losses avoided, enabling a clearer assessment of the programme’s long-term impact. These measures would help India transition from disease control towards sustainable disease-free status and strengthen the country’s prospects for expanding trade in livestock products.

References

Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. (n.d.). National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP). Government of India. https://dahd.gov.in/schemes/programmes/nadcp?
Press Information Bureau. (2019, June 21). Foot and mouth diseases in livestock. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2&reg=48&relid=190624
Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying. (2019, December 31). Operational guidelines for National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis (NADCP). Government of India. https://dahd.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-06/NADCPOperationalGuidelines31-12-2019_0.pdf?
Press Information Bureau. (2025, March 18). National animal disease control program. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2113155&lang=2&reg=48
Press Information Bureau. (2026, August 22). National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP): A disease-free tomorrow for Indian livestock. Government of India. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?id=159684&NoteId=159684&ModuleId=3&reg=48&lang=2

About the Contributor

Pritha Choudhury is a postgraduate in Economics from Jadavpur University. Her academic interests include public policy, economic development, innovation policy, and data-driven policy analysis.

Reviewers: Tanisha, Sandra Menon

Acknowledgment

The author extends sincere thanks to the IMPRI team for their guidance and support in developing this Policy Update.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this policy update are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of IMPRI or any affiliated institution. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information and data presented, readers are encouraged to verify facts independently before relying on them for any decision-making purpose.