Rajasthan’s camel-support programmes have expanded, but a population recovery has not yet been demonstrated. The often-quoted 75% decline is a long-term, India-wide comparison between an estimated peak of about 1.1 million camels in the 1970s and 252,000 recorded in the 2019 Livestock Census. It is not a count of camels at Pushkar Mela.
The latest official census comparison available in the cited parliamentary material is more specific: India had 400,000 camels in 2012 and 252,000 in 2019, a fall of 37.05%. Because no newer census result or published impact evaluation establishes a rebound, the careful conclusion is that policy support has increased while recovery remains unproven.
What the “75% decline” actually measures
Three different numbers are often blended together: an estimated historical peak, the national livestock census, and the number of camels brought to a fair for sale. They describe different things.
| Measure | Figure | What it tells us |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated Indian peak in the 1970s | About 1.1 million camels | A historical estimate used for the long-run comparison; it is not a census count from the same series. |
| 19th Livestock Census, 2012 | 400,000 camels | India-wide population benchmark. |
| 20th Livestock Census, 2019 | 252,000 camels | India-wide population benchmark, 37.05% below 2012. |
| Camels brought to Pushkar for sale, 2011 | 8,238 | Fair arrivals reported by The Indian Express from Rajasthan Animal Husbandry Department data; not the state or national herd. |
| Camels brought to Pushkar for sale, 2019 | 3,298 | Sale arrivals at the fair, down from 2011; not a population census. |
Using the estimated 1970s peak and the 2019 census count produces a decline of roughly three-quarters. Calling it a “75% plunge at Pushkar” would therefore be misleading: Pushkar arrivals are a market indicator, while the 75% framing is a long-run national comparison.
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Why Rajasthan and Pushkar are central
Rajasthan accounted for about 84% of India’s camel population in the state information reproduced in a 2022 Lok Sabha answer. Changes in Rajasthan consequently have an outsized effect on the national total.
Pushkar Mela is described by Rajasthan Tourism as a camel and livestock fair as well as a major tourist attraction. The number of animals arriving for sale reflects the strength of trading activity and breeder participation at that event. It cannot, by itself, show whether India’s total breeding population is rising or falling.
Why camel numbers fell
The Union government’s 2022 parliamentary answer relayed explanations from Rajasthan’s Animal Husbandry Department. It listed several interacting pressures rather than assigning a measured share of the decline to any one cause.
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Mechanization reduced everyday demand
Tractors, trucks and other motor transport replaced many tasks once performed by camels, reducing the economic reason for households to maintain working animals. Better road connectivity reinforced that shift.
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Grazing and fodder became harder to secure
The official explanation cited shrinking access to grazing land, fodder restrictions and limits affecting forest areas. When herders must buy more feed or move animals farther to graze, keeping a camel becomes less financially attractive.
Trade rules created a conservation–livelihood tension
Rajasthan’s 2015 camel law prohibits slaughter and regulates temporary migration or export; the parliamentary answer says inter-state camel trading is prohibited. Breeders and traders have raised concerns that restrictions can make it harder to sell surplus animals or move them to buyers. That is a documented policy concern, not proof that the law alone caused the population decline.
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Fewer young people entered the occupation
The same government explanation identified younger generations leaving camel rearing as its economic scope narrowed. A smaller pool of experienced herders weakens the continuity of breeding knowledge and pastoral livelihoods.
What Rajasthan’s new policy push provides
Recent measures target several of those constraints: breeder income, calf survival, animal health, genetic infrastructure and potential markets for camel products.
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Higher payments for newborn calves
Rajasthan’s 2022–23 Camel Conservation and Development Policy provided ₹10,000 per camel calf. The Camel Conservation and Development Mission implemented in 2024–25 increased the reported payment to ₹20,000 per newborn calf, according to a February 2026 Lok Sabha answer.
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Health camps and insurance
The reported programme includes regular health camps. For 2024–25, one camel per livestock owner was insured. For 2025–26, the announced coverage was increased to as many as ten camels per Jan Aadhaar cardholder.
Breeding-farm and infrastructure support
Under the National Livestock Mission, eligible camel breed-multiplication farms can receive a one-time capital subsidy covering 50% of approved cost, capped at ₹50 lakh. The central programme also describes support for state breeding infrastructure, including nucleus farms, breeder societies and semen laboratories; the parliamentary answer reports support of up to ₹10 crore for specified infrastructure. Scheme eligibility and current application terms should be checked with the implementing department before a breeder relies on these figures.
Camel milk and other value-added products
Government updates describe camel-milk collection and processing, three dedicated collection centres or cooperative societies, and products including camel-milk powder and biscuits. These initiatives could add income without requiring every animal to be sold, but the cited material does not establish their scale, profitability or effect on herd numbers.
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Why these measures do not yet prove a turnaround
Payments, insurance, veterinary services and processing facilities are policy inputs. A population reversal would require evidence that they change outcomes across enough herding households.
- The latest population benchmark identified here remains the 2019 census.
- No later census result in the cited material shows that India’s camel population has increased.
- No published evaluation establishes how many eligible breeders received calf payments, whether payments arrived on time, or whether they changed breeding decisions.
- The available sources do not show whether calf survival, female breeding stock, grazing access or herd retention improved.
- Milk products are described as initiatives, not as proven, reliable income streams for a large share of breeders.
It is therefore accurate to say that support has broadened and the incentive has doubled since 2022–23. It is not yet accurate to say that the policy has reversed the decline.
What would demonstrate real recovery
A credible assessment should track the following measures across successive reporting periods and livestock censuses:
- Population and breeding capacity: total camels, female breeding stock and the geographic distribution of herds.
- Reproduction: births, calf survival, age at first breeding and the number of animals retained rather than sold.
- Household economics: breeder income, prices received, access to buyers and the share of eligible households receiving incentives.
- Pastoral conditions: usable grazing area, fodder costs, migration access and veterinary coverage.
- Programme reach: beneficiaries, payments made, insurance claims, health visits and the operating scale of breeding facilities and milk centres.
Without those outcome measures, a larger budget or a new programme name cannot distinguish a genuine demographic recovery from expanded administration.
How to read Pushkar Mela numbers
A fall from 8,238 camels brought for sale in 2011 to 3,298 in 2019 is consistent with a smaller or less active market at the fair. It may reflect fewer animals available, weaker demand, transport and legal constraints, or breeders choosing other channels. The figure does not reveal which explanation dominates, and it cannot replace a population count.
For visitors, the fair remains an important public display of camel husbandry and a livestock marketplace. For conservation, the more important question is whether breeders can earn enough from keeping healthy breeding females and raising calves for the herd to sustain itself.
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