National Gopal Ratna Awards 2023 to be conferred on November 26

Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy, will present the National Gopal Ratna Awards on November 26, 2023, at the Veterinary College Ground in Guwahati, Assam. The National Gopal Ratna Awards 2023 to be conferred on 26th November 2023 as a part of National Milk Day celebration 2023. Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, and Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying will also attend the award event. As a part of the National Milk Day celebrations in 2023, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is organising the National Gopal Ratna Award 2023.       

National Gopal Ratna Award 2023

• The National Gopal Ratna Award is one of the highest national honours in the livestock and dairy industries.
• Objective: To recognise and promote all those engaged in this field, such as farmers growing indigenous animals, AI technicians, and dairy cooperative societies/milk producer companies/dairy farmers producers organisations. 
• The Rashtriya Gokul Mission(RGM) was started for the first time in the country in December 2014, with the goal of scientifically conserving and developing indigenous bovine breeds. 

Categories of National Gopal Ratna Award

• The National Gopal Ratna Award is conferred in three categories, namely,
  • Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/buffalo Breeds,
  • Milk Producer Company/ Best Dairy Cooperative/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organization 
  • Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) 

Monetary price of National Gopal Ratna Award

• The National Gopal Ratna Award 2023 includes a Certificate of Merit, a memento and a monetary reward in the first two categories, Best Dairy Farmer and Best DCS/FPO/MPCS, as follows:

• The National Gopal Ratna Award-2023 will only include a Certificate of Merit and a memento in the Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) category.
• There will be no monetary prize awarded in the Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) category. 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Among the 53 breeds of cattle and 20 breeds of buffalo, farmers who preserve any of the recognised indigenous breeds are eligible to qualify for an award.
• A cooperative society/Milk Producer Company (MPC)/Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) involved in dairy operations at the village level that is registered under the Cooperative Societies Act/ Companies Act and has at least 50 farmer/milk producer members.
• Artificial Insemination Technicians from the State/UT Livestock Development Board/State/Milk Federations/NGOs and other private organisations who have completed AI training for at least 90 days are eligible to apply for the award. 
• Veterinary doctors are not eligible for this award because it is intended for Artificial Insemination Technicians (AIT).

National Milk Day

• On November 26th, National Milk Day is held to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India's White Revolution. 
• In 2014, the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), and 22 state-level milk federations resolved to commemorate Dr Verghese Kurien's birthday on November 26.
• Every year on June 1st, World Milk Day is observed, which was founded by the Food and Agricultural Organisation.