Ladakh's Pashmina Sector Gets PLI Scheme, ₹8-Crore Revolving Fund to Boost Herder Incomes

The Ladakh Pashmina Development Board held its first meeting under Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and approved a suite of measures to restructure the economics of Pashmina production in the Union Territory. The centrepiece is a 25% production-based incentive under the Livestock Development Incentive Programme, payable over and above the government's existing raw Pashmina procurement price.

The Board also cleared an ₹8-crore revolving fund to underpin a new payment architecture. Under the revised system, the All Changthang Pashmina Growers' Cooperative Marketing Society (ACPGCMS) will disburse 50% of the procurement cost upfront, with the balance to follow within two months — a sharp improvement on the eight-to-ten-month delays that herders had routinely endured.

The approved framework prescribes a structured end-use for the 25% production incentive rather than leaving its utilisation open-ended:

• 60% is ring-fenced for livestock improvement and scientific breeding programmes
• 20% is earmarked for the procurement of modern combing equipment and supporting infrastructure
• 20% is available to herders for household and other personal financial requirements

The allocation reflects a deliberate attempt to channel the bulk of the incentive back into productivity enhancement at the farm level, while still providing herding households with some discretionary liquidity. Officials said the mechanism is designed to make Pashmina goat rearing both more profitable and more sustainable over the long term.

The administration has set ambitious supply-side benchmarks to be achieved over the next three years. The Pashmina goat population in Ladakh is currently estimated at around two lakh; the target is to double this to four lakh through active breeding support.

Equally significant is the per-animal yield target. Average Pashmina output per goat currently stands at roughly 200 grams; through scientific breeding practices and the introduction of advanced combing tools, the administration aims to raise this to 350 grams per goat. Together, the two targets imply a potential near-fourfold increase in total raw Pashmina output if both are achieved simultaneously — a scale of transformation that would materially alter Ladakh's position in the global fine-fibre market.

Ladakh's Pashmina, sourced from the Changthangi goats herded by the nomadic Changpa community on the high-altitude Changthang plateau, is widely regarded as one of the finest natural fibres in the world. Despite commanding premium prices in international markets, returns to the primary producer — the herder — have historically been constrained by low productivity, limited market access, and, critically, delayed payments running eight to ten months.

The revolving fund and upfront payment guarantee directly address the liquidity problem that has discouraged sustained investment in herd quality. Analysts and industry observers have long argued that without reliable cash flow, herders lack the incentive or means to adopt better breeding and husbandry practices — precisely the gap the new framework attempts to close.