Can a cow’s digital identity unlock global markets for Indian farmers? Across India’s villages, a quiet revolution is underway, one that could redefine rural trade, animal health, and farmer incomes. The Bharat Pashudhan platform, powered by the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM), is building a data-driven infrastructure for animal husbandry, much like UPI did for payments and GeM for procurement. This is not merely a technology rollout. It is the construction of a rural data backbone that enables trade, finance, and disease management.

At the heart of this system is Pashu Aadhaar, a unique 12-digit ID assigned to every animal. This ID ties together health records, vaccination history, breeding details, and productivity metrics. With India’s livestock population exceeding 535 million, including the world’s largest combined cattle and buffalo population of 303 million, this digital infrastructure is bringing unprecedented visibility to a sector that contributes over 30 percent of agricultural GDP and is growing faster than the broader agriculture sector.

What is striking is the ambition of NDLM. It is not just for cattle and buffalo, but also for registering sheep and goats, and creating digital identities for the millions of small ruminants that sustain the poorest rural households. India is the world leader in goat population and ranks third in sheep population. These are not just statistical curiosities. They are a reminder........

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