BENGALURU: The State Government is introducing digital identification for cattle, using muzzle biometrics. The barcode-based identification system will help track vaccination records, health status, and insurance or death-related claims. This will act like Aadhaar card for cattle.
A first-of-its-kind initiative in India, the system is expected to replace traditional ear tags that require piercing of ears. The mechanism is now ready for pilot implementation.
In future, farmers may be able to upload photos of their cattle through the same system, enabling digital health assessment and faster access to government services.
Speaking to TNIE, Principal Secretary to Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that the initiative would enable accurate identification of cattle through unique muzzle prints similar to human being’s finger prints.
“The initiative will also help prevent fraud in livestock-related schemes and improve transparency in implementation,” he said.
He also said this can be replicated across multiple grievance redressal and livestock management systems in the state.
Shreevyas HM, Project Director, Artificial Intelligence Cell, Centre for e-Governance (CeG), said ridges on a cattle’s nose (muzzle) form a unique pattern of lines, bumps and furrows.
“The state has over one crore cattle population and it grows by over 10 lakh every year. At present, ear piercing is used to identify cattle. With AI-enabled digitalisation mechanism, identification will be easier,” he said.
With this initiative, farmers will get SMS alerts on vaccination dates. The digital recording can be done for new born cattle too. “In future, health- related assessment of cattle can be done by scanning photos of muzzle,” he said.
The AI-powered system is expected to strengthen digital governance in the animal husbandry sector while ensuring efficient tracking and authentication of livestock.
Key obejctives
Replace conventional ear-tag systems
Prevent fraud in livestock-related schemes
Enable reliable identification of cattle