The government on September 28 launched the Pashudhan Bima Portal, a single integrated digital platform for livestock insurance under the National Livestock Mission.

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, inaugurated the portal in New Delhi. It brings policy issuance, claim processing, monitoring and reporting onto one system.

The portal will work in 13 languages — Hindi, English and 11 regional languages — to reach farmers across states.

Under the scheme, small and marginal farmers pay only 15% of the premium, while the Centre and states subsidise the remaining 85%. This keeps insurance affordable for cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig rearers.

Officials said 60.8 lakh animals were insured over the last five-year period, with ₹161.07 crore released as premium subsidy.

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

Livestock supports about 20.5 million people in India and contributes over 4% to GDP. Officials say the portal will make claims faster and cut paperwork for farmers.