The process will be completed in a year, says Union Minister

Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Thursday said that a national-level cattle survey would be carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) from September.

The Central government plans to survey the cattle population and different breeds with focus on high-yielding cattle across the country in the wake of ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.

The ban came into force recently with the notification under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act.

When asked about the proposed national-level cattle survey at a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Sadananda said that the cattle survey would likely to begin in September.

Parameters to be covered under the survey were being worked out, the Union Minister added.

Previously, the NSSO had attempted to carry out a national-level cattle survey but it had to be withdrawn due to various reasons, according to Mr. Sadananda. “Apart from collecting exclusive data about the cattle, difficulties of the farmers who own the cattle will be heard to find out solution to their woes. Of late, we are working on the methods to be adopted for the survey and tools of technology,” said Mr. Sadananda.

“Special training is required for those to be deployed for the cattle survey. The cattle survey is expected to be completed within one year from the date of commencement,” said Mr. Sadananda.

Labour survey

With regard to household survey, Mr. Sadananda said that labour survey that focuses on unemployment and survey on household expenditure on education and health began recently.

Mr. Sadananda also said that the Ministry of Statistics launched a pilot project in the State of Maharashtra, integrating remote sensing technology with crop cutting experiments to get accurate crop yield estimates. “The pilot project will cover different major crops like paddy, sugarcane and wheat in Andhra Pradesh and other States,” said Mr. Sadananda.