Livestock Disease Control Programme: FMD, Brucellosis Vaccination & NADCP

What is the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme?

The Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme is implemented by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying. It seeks to reduce animal-disease risks through vaccination, disease surveillance, veterinary infrastructure, diagnostic support and doorstep veterinary services.

The current programme has three broad components:

• National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) for FMD and Bovine Brucellosis;
• Livestock Health & Disease Control (LH&DC), including critical disease control, Mobile Veterinary Units and assistance to States; and
• Pashu Aushadhi for access to affordable generic veterinary medicines and ethno-veterinary medicines.

National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP)

NADCP was launched in 2019 as a major national programme to control Foot and Mouth Disease and Bovine Brucellosis. It is a Central Sector programme for which the Central Government provides funding to States and Union Territories for the prescribed vaccination and disease-control activities.

The programme combines large-scale vaccination with animal identification, digital registration, surveillance, awareness and monitoring.

Main NADCP Activities

• Mass vaccination against FMD in susceptible cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs.
• Primary vaccination of eligible bovine calves.
• Deworming before vaccination as prescribed.
• Vaccination of eligible female bovine calves against Brucellosis.
• Ear-tagging and identification of target animals.
• Registration and uploading of vaccination and animal-health data in the national livestock database.
• Awareness programmes and capacity building for field implementation.

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Control

Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and pigs. It can severely affect milk production, growth, draught capacity and livestock productivity.

The current programme provides mass FMD vaccination at prescribed intervals across the susceptible livestock population. The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying states that the national objective is to control and eradicate FMD by 2030.

Vaccination is accompanied by surveillance and laboratory confirmation of suspected outbreaks so that disease trends can be monitored scientifically.

Bovine Brucellosis Control

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can cause abortion, infertility, reduced milk production and reproductive losses in livestock. It is also a zoonotic disease, meaning that infection can be transmitted from animals to humans.

The Brucellosis Control Programme focuses on vaccination of eligible female bovine calves in the prescribed age group. The objective is to reduce infection in animals and thereby also reduce the public-health risk associated with transmission to livestock owners, farm workers and other persons exposed to infected animals.

PPR and Classical Swine Fever Control

LHDCP now extends well beyond FMD and Brucellosis. Its Critical Animal Disease Control Programme also covers:

• Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats, with an objective of control and eradication by 2030; and
• Classical Swine Fever (CSF) in pigs through vaccination and disease-control measures.

States and Union Territories may also receive assistance under the programme to control other economically important, zoonotic, exotic and emerging animal diseases.

Mobile Veterinary Units and Doorstep Services

The current LHDCP framework also strengthens veterinary hospitals and dispensaries and supports Mobile Veterinary Units (MVUs). These units are intended to provide veterinary services at farmers' doorsteps, including access through the toll-free number 1962 where operational.

Veterinary outreach can include treatment, disease investigation, vaccination support, sample collection, awareness and other animal-health services depending on the State or Union Territory implementation framework.

Central Funding for Livestock Vaccination

The 2019 programme marked a major expansion of Central support for livestock vaccination. Under the current LHDCP framework, vaccination against FMD, Brucellosis, PPR and Classical Swine Fever is supported through 100% Central assistance for States and Union Territories.

Older announcements referred to a fixed multi-year financial package and specific livestock-count targets. Those figures were part of the original programme design and should not be treated as the current annual budget or current remaining target.

Latest Progress of FMD and Brucellosis Vaccination

Official Government updates show that vaccination has continued at a very large scale. As of March 2026, more than 132 crore FMD vaccine doses had been administered under NADCP, while more than 3 crore eligible female bovine calves had been vaccinated against Brucellosis since the programme began.

Government disease-surveillance data also show a substantial reduction in reported FMD and Brucellosis outbreaks compared with 2019 levels, indicating the importance of repeated vaccination, surveillance and field monitoring.

These figures are cumulative programme achievements and will continue to change as vaccination rounds and surveillance activities proceed.

Why Livestock Disease Control Matters

• Reduces mortality and production losses in livestock.
• Protects milk, meat and other livestock-sector productivity.
• Supports incomes of farmers and livestock-rearing households.
• Reduces zoonotic disease risks such as Brucellosis.
• Improves national disease surveillance and animal traceability.
• Supports creation of disease-free zones and improved market access.
• Strengthens veterinary services and emergency response capacity.

Key Takeaways

• The current umbrella programme is LHDCP.
• NADCP remains focused on FMD and Bovine Brucellosis.
• FMD eradication is targeted by 2030.
• PPR eradication is also targeted by 2030.
• Vaccination against FMD, Brucellosis, PPR and CSF receives 100% Central assistance.
• Mobile Veterinary Units supplement disease-control efforts with doorstep veterinary services.
• Farmers should rely on current State/UT Animal Husbandry Department vaccination schedules and official DAHD guidance.