The Union Budget 2026 marks a watershed moment for India's dairy and livestock sectors, with the Finance Minister's announcements reflecting many of the strategic priorities we outlined in our pre-budget expectations. This budget is not just about numbers: it's about empowering millions of dairy farmers, strengthening rural resilience, and ensuring sustainable, inclusive growth for a sector that contributes 30% of agriculture GVA. We are gratified to see this strong commitment translate into tangible action. The scaling up of veterinary capacity by 20,000 professionals through new colleges, hospitals, laboratories and para-vet networks directly addresses the severe shortage we flagged: bridging the gap from 68,000 to the required 110,000-120,000 veterinarians. For our 3 lakh+ farmer partners, this veterinary infrastructure expansion, coupled with the enhancement of credit-linked subsidies for Indian farmers, will unlock transformative possibilities, including better animal health, improved breeding outcomes, higher milk yields, and crucially, affordable credit access for livestock investments.
Heritage Foods stands committed to partnering with the government to translate these visionary allocations into ground-level impact, maximizing benefits for our farmers and cementing India's dairy leadership globally.