The Pashudhan Bima Portal, launched on September 28, is the government's single digital window for livestock insurance. Here is how it works.

Who can use it: cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig rearers across India. Small and marginal farmers pay only 15% of the premium; the Centre and states cover the remaining 85%.

What it does: the portal handles policy issuance, claim processing, monitoring and reporting in one place, replacing paperwork spread across agencies.

It works in 13 languages – Hindi, English and 11 regional languages – so farmers can use it in their own language.

Why it matters: livestock supports about 20.5 million people and contributes over 4% of GDP. Losing an animal to disease or accident can wipe out a family's savings.

So far, 60.8 lakh animals have been insured under the National Livestock Mission over five years, with Rs 161.07 crore released as premium subsidy.

RFID tagging of insured animals is under evaluation, which would improve tracking and reduce fraud in claims.

What is next: farmers can register animals, buy policies and file claims online, with status tracking built into the portal.