Updated: 3 October 2026

Only one central subsidy is aimed at poultry: the National Livestock Mission entrepreneurship programme (NLM-EDP), which pays 50% of project cost, up to ₹25 lakh, for a rural poultry parent farm, hatchery and brooder-cum-mother unit. An ordinary broiler or layer shed is not on that list and is financed by a bank loan, often with a Kisan Credit Card for running costs. Status below is as of 3 October 2026.

Costs are on the project cost page; check what you qualify for in the subsidy finder.

Scheme by scheme

SchemeStatus, Oct 2026Who can applyRate and limits
NLM-EDP, rural poultryGuideline period 2021 to 2026. NLM has ₹808 crore in Budget 2026-27, so ask your state animal husbandry department whether applications are openIndividuals, FPOs, SHGs, JLGs, Section 8 companies; PIB also lists FCOs50% of project cost, maximum ₹25 lakh; at least 10% own money if bank-financed
AHIDFDAHD page gives outlay validity to 31 March 2026; no extension listedIndividual entrepreneurs, private companies, MSMEs, FPOs, Section 8 companies, dairy cooperativesLoan up to 90% of cost; 3% interest subvention for up to 8 years; repayment up to 10 years with 2 years moratorium
Kisan Credit CardIn forceFarmers including tenants, SHGs and JLGs; covers poultry as an allied activityRevolving credit, collateral-free up to ₹2 lakh; limits below
Poultry Venture Capital FundClosed: 13 activities deleted on 13 Oct 2020Not openReplaced; do not use

NLM-EDP: how to apply

  1. Open nlm.udyamimitra.in and select Apply here. The steps below follow the guideline's How to Apply pages.
  2. Choose Login as Entrepreneur and register with your mobile number. Tick "I'm not a robot", click Request OTP, enter the six-digit OTP and click Verify OTP.
  3. Fill personal details, project details and bank account details, upload the documents, tick the Declaration and Authorization and submit.
  4. The State Implementing Agency committee reviews the application, you present your DPR, officers visit the site, and the application goes to a bank for the loan. After the bank sanctions it, the State Level Executive Committee and then DAHD's Project Approval Committee approve it.
  5. Subsidy comes back-ended in two instalments through SIDBI and your bank: the first after the bank has released at least 25% of the loan, the second after the project is completed and verified.
  • Documents: DPR; land ownership or registered lease with the latest land tax receipt; address proof; photos of you and the site with GIS location; bank mandate with cancelled cheque; six months' bank statement; experience or training certificate from a local government veterinarian; education certificates; PAN. FPOs, SHGs and companies add deed or incorporation certificate, GST, a list of linked farmers with Aadhaar, and three years of audited accounts and returns.
  • Rules: poultry here means layer-type parent farms of 1,000 female and 100 male low-input birds with a hatchery and a mother unit. Only new projects qualify, not expansion. The unit must run at least three years after completion.
  • Track record: a December 2023 Rajya Sabha reply shows 49 rural poultry proposals with first-instalment subsidy of ₹6.67 crore released (47 individuals, 1 FPO, 1 SHG).
  • State windows: states run NLM through their own agencies. Nagaland's animal husbandry department advertised an expression of interest in March 2023 (45 days from publication), and Bihar announced its NLM window on 19 May 2025 (news report, secondary). These are state routes to the same central subsidy, not separate state subsidies.
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AHIDF: only for the supply chain

  • The DAHD page lists breed improvement and breed multiplication farms, animal feed plants, meat processing and value addition, veterinary vaccine and drug units, waste management and primary wool processing. The FAQ names poultry under meat processing, and feed plants cover poultry feed. A plain grow-out shed is not listed.
  • Own money is 10% for micro and small units and 15% for medium; interest subvention is not given on land, working capital, old machinery or personal vehicles. A credit guarantee of up to 25% of the loan is available for MSME projects through a NABARD trust, if the bank has signed the MoU.
  • Apply through the SIDBI Udyami Mitra portal with a full DPR; the bank sanctions the loan and sends it to DAHD for the interest subvention. The Apply for Loan link is on the DAHD page. Because the stated validity ended on 31 March 2026, ask the bank whether new applications are being taken.

Kisan Credit Card for poultry

  • PIB's 11 March 2026 backgrounder says KCC covers allied activities such as dairy, poultry, fisheries and beekeeping, and that collateral-free credit is ₹2 lakh per borrower from 1 January 2025.
  • The same document gives two limits: the credit limit for fisheries and allied activities raised from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh, and short-term loans up to ₹3 lakh at 7% with 3% for timely repayment, giving an effective 4%. Ask your bank which limit and rate apply to poultry.
  • Apply at a commercial, regional rural or cooperative bank. The one-page form comes pre-filled from PM-KISAN records; bring land records and crop details. See KCC details and the DAHD Kisan Credit Cards page.

Closed or merged: do not apply

  • Poultry Venture Capital Fund: a DAHD letter of 13 October 2020 treated all 13 of its activities as deleted.
  • Backyard Poultry component, 25% up to ₹12 lakh: the same letter created it, but NLM was revised and realigned from 2021-22 (Cabinet, 14 July 2021) and the entrepreneurship programme now pays 50% up to ₹25 lakh. Sites that still quote 25% or ₹12 lakh are out of date.
  • New scheme, no guidelines yet: Budget 2026-27 lists an Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development at ₹500 crore, covering credit-linked subsidy and dairy and poultry value chains. No guidelines are out yet, so it cannot be applied for.
  • State schemes: state poultry subsidies differ and none is listed here. Ask your state animal husbandry department, and see livestock farming and the poultry farming guide.

Sources

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