Cow excreta start-ups to get up to 60% govt funding

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Start-ups that sell cow by-products may soon be getting additional funding from the government. The recently-set-up Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will reportedly be funding up to 60% of the investment made by cow-based enterprises.

To encourage more youth to explore business opportunities in cow by-products, officials of the Kamdhenu Aayog have been meeting students and scholars also.

Speaking on the same, the chairman of the body, Vallabh Kathiria, said that they will also encourage youth to utilise other by-products such as urine and dung that can be used for medicinal and agriculture purposes.

According to a report by the Times Of India, the chairman has additionally been in talks with experts from the Entrepreneur Development Institute of India in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, to craft a strategy that would encourage more youngsters to join the cow by-products industry.

The Kamdhenu Aayog was formed in February 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a nod for the constitution of an organisation that would devote itself solely towards the conservation and protection of cows.

The Kamdhenu Aayog was formed with the motive of catalysing the growth of the livestock industry in the country with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore.

Kathiria explained that this new-found “commercialised” usage of cow excreta will make sure that the farm animals are not turned away once they stop producing milk.

The chairman of the cow protection body further exhorted academicians to research on the medicinal value of cow dung and urine and vowed to provide a platform to scholars who research on these by-products. Moreover, training and skill development programmes will be arranged for people who already run gaushalas (cow shed).

The Ministry of AYUSH and the Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog have reportedly joined hands to produce a special drug called Panchgavya that will contain extracts of cow urine and dung. This medicine, they claim, would help raise highly intelligent children if consumed by pregnant women.