UP govt to frame policy on courses in animal husbandry, para-veterinary medicine

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday decided to formulate a policy to start diploma and certificate courses in animal husbandry and para-veterinary medicine in the state. The decision in this regard was taken at a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This initiative is being taken to strengthen veterinary services in rural areas and increase the number of para-vets trained in veterinary science, Animal Husbandry Minister Dharampal Singh said.

Under this new policy, animal husbandry diploma and certificate courses can be conducted in private as well as government institutions in the state, which will help para vets in necessary training and skill development. Singh said that the role of paravets is very important in rural areas, because the number of veterinarians in the state is limited. "There are about 34,500 veterinarians in the entire country, while at present only 8,193 veterinarians are available in Uttar Pradesh. Due to this shortage, paravets often have to play a supporting role under the supervision of veterinarians in tasks like vaccination, wound dressing, first aid and care.

“Paravets are trained to provide animal health services in rural areas, but they face a number of challenges due to lack of resources and inadequate training," the minister said. He said that to increase the training and skills of paravets to provide better animal health services, the government has decided to train them through diploma and certificate courses. Under this policy, paravets will be trained in vaccination, first aid, wound care and other essential aspects of animal health services. This step will provide a new direction in the field of animal husbandry and paraveterinary medicine and will empower paravets professionally, he added. He said that the main institutes working in the field of animal husbandry in the state are Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwavidyalaya and Gau Anusandhan Sansthan, Mathura.

Veterinary colleges, new policy

Apart from this, Acharya Narendra Dev Agriculture and Technology University, Kumarganj and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Agriculture and Technology University, Meerut are also running veterinary colleges. Now standards will be set by these universities for providing affiliation to private colleges so that animal husbandry and para veterinary courses can be conducted in private sectors as well. The government had constituted a four-member expert committee under the chairmanship of the Special Secretary of the Animal Husbandry Department to prepare the policy.

The committee has prepared a report after detailed study, on the basis of which a policy has been made for courses related to para veterinary medicine and animal husbandry in the state. Under this policy, affiliation of institutions, uniformity of courses and standard determination will be done. He said that the policy will not be limited to government institutions only, but it will also be possible to conduct these courses in private colleges. This step will increase the number of paravets in rural areas and they will be able to contribute more to veterinary services. This decision of the state government will also provide new employment opportunities in the animal husbandry and agriculture sector of the state.