Now, cows and buffaloes in India to get Aadhaar-like identification cards – Find details here

New Delhi: Just like citizens, cows and buffaloes in India will also be assigned a 12-digit unique identification number.

In a bid to improve progeny and milk production, the animal husbandry department has begun a drive to tag all indigenous variety of cattle.

The step will further ensure that the cattle are vaccinated on time and scientific intervention is made available for better breeding.

As per report in The Economics Times, the department has tasked technicians with affixing a tag with a 12-digit Aadhaar-like number inside the ear of cows.

The Narendra Modi government aims to tag around 88 million cows and buffaloes in 2017 for which Rs 148 crore has been allocated.

Around one lakh technicians have been provided with 50,000 tablets and their task is to affix a yellow-colored polyurethane tag in the centre of the earlobe of the cattle with a tag applicator, said the daily.

Each tag costs Rs 8, weighs just eight grams and are tamper-proof.

Agencies cannot use Aadhaar details other than stated purpose

The UIDs of cows will be stored in an online database. The technician will then hand over an 'animal health card' to the cattle owner. The card will have the UID number, owner's details, the status of periodic deworming, vaccination of the animal, and breeding details.

The government has set targets for all states to finish the task by the year-end.