<div><em>Beef has emerged as the second largest product exported from India after rice, in the past one year. Can India do without it? <strong>Arshad Khan </strong>asks</em></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Last year, when Narendra Modi was campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, addressing a rally in Bihar he had said: “This country wants a Green Revolution. But now those at the Centre (the then UPA) want a 'Pink Revolution'. Do you know what it means? When animals are slaughtered, the colour of their flesh is pink. Animals are being slaughtered and being taken to Bangladesh. The government is giving subsidies to those who are carrying out this slaughter.”</div><div> </div><div>After coming to power, Mr Modi understood the economies attached with the beef export, letting the pink revolution bloom more than ever. </div><div> </div><div>India has been the largest exporter of beef in the world since last year. According to the latest data issued by the US Department of Agriculture, India is expected to export 2.4 million tonnes of beef in 2015 which will account for a whopping 23.3 per cent of the world's beef production.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Read Also: <a href="http://businessworld.in/economy-policy-opinion-columns/beefing-some-trouble">Beefing Up Some Trouble</a></strong><br><br><br>Between April-November 2014, the sale of bovine meat and meat products was worth $3.3 billion compared to $2.8 billion in the same period the previous year, registering a 16.7 per cent increase. Beef has emerged as the second largest product exported from India after rice, in the past one year.</div><div> </div><div>Reports say that the bovine exports are valued at around Rs 29,000 crore and banning it would be a big set-back for the economy which no government can afford. Going by the data, it seems India is in no position to ban money spinning around beef export. Exports that are purely “Made In India”. Little surprise that the top meat exporters of the country, mainly from the Capital have already appealed before the Prime Minister’s Office, to reconsider the ban.</div><div> </div><div>Another reason why the government will keep mum over the issue is the earnings that the sale of ox, cows and buffaloes provide to the drought hit farmers. For instance, the average value of a live animal lies anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1,00,000 and as they age their value continues to depreciate. A report tells that on an average a farmer earns Rs 30,000 to 50,000 when he sells his cattle to slaughter houses. Not to forget the little but significant earnings from milch cows.<br> </div><div>A complete ban will not only impact small farmers' fortunes but will also leave them pennilessness. Not to forget that with its high protein content, in some parts of poverty stricken India, beef is the main source of nutrition. </div><div> </div><div>The lack of facility and space to dispose off 20 to 30 million animals per year will be an expensive affair for the government. If not properly done, the deceased animals can cause disease and trigger health epidemics. </div><div> </div><div>The actions taken by the BJP government too justifies that it wants the profitable business to bring more revenues. As per a media report, the BJP government continued giving a grant of Rs 15 crore for the construction of new slaughter houses and renovation or modernisation of the existing ones. A ban on bovine slaughter completely contradicts this move by the Government.</div><div> </div><div>As per the ministry of Food Processing, till March 31, 2014, India had 1,623 registered slaughterhouses in the country. The top five states being Maharashtra with 316 slaughter, followed by Uttar Pradesh - 285, Andhra Pradesh - 183, Tamil Nadu - 130 and Karnataka - 96.</div><div> </div><div>As per the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry, here is the list of the states and Union Territories with the laws relating to cow slaughter.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Prohibition on cow slaughter</strong></div><div>The slaughtering of cow is completely prohibited in the states and UTs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as per their individual laws.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Permission to slaughter animals</strong></div><div>Any category of animal can be slaughtered in West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Assam and Daman & Diu and the north-eastern states if they are given a 'fit-for-slaughter' certificate according to the laws of respective states and Union Territories.</div><div> </div>
