At the heart of India’s booming dairy sector lies a quiet paradox: while the country leads the world in milk production, millions of its small dairy farmers struggle with low yields and thin margins. Samrat Kaushik, a seasoned data strategist and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, saw this firsthand during visits to gaushalas and rural dairy farms. What he discovered set him on a mission that would become Moo Rakshak—a precision cattle nutrition platform aimed at transforming what goes into India’s dairy animals to fundamentally change what comes out.
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The Spark Behind the Startup
Kaushik’s two-decade career in automation and analytics shaped his belief in data-driven efficiency. But it was a deeper personal experience that lit the spark. While working on self-sustainability projects in gaushalas, he encountered countless small-scale farmers who fed their cattle based on tradition and guesswork. Nutrition, a factor accounting for up to 70% of a dairy farmer’s costs, was overlooked, leading to poor productivity and increased methane emissions.
“What goes into the animal,” Kaushik realised, “defines milk yield, farmer income, and even climate impact.” Thus, Moo Rakshak was born in November 2022, headquartered in Delhi, with field operations in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The venture was incubated at IIT Kanpur and other leading research institutes, signalling early validation of its high-impact model.
A Digital Protector of Cattle and Livelihoods
Moo Rakshak’s name reflects its mission: “Moo” for the cow and “Rakshak” meaning protector in Hindi. The platform delivers intelligent, stage-wise feed recommendations powered by AI, computer vision, and feed science. It offers in-house feed premixes enriched with probiotics, chelated minerals, and essential nutrients.
Crucially, the platform will also be tracking methane emissions from enteric fermentation—a key source of greenhouse gases, allowing farmers to adopt eco-friendly practices and potentially benefit from carbon credits.
A Founder-Led Vision for Rural Impact
Kaushik and co-founder Nidhi Gautam, who serves as COO, lead a lean team of eight professionals with expertise spanning animal science, AI/ML, and rural operations. Grounded in empathy and fieldwork, the team reflects Moo Rakshak’s ethos of blending modern technology with traditional wisdom.
“Just as Aadhaar created a digital identity for people, we envision a digital nutritional identity for every dairy animal,” says Kaushik. This vision positions Moo Rakshak as a trailblazer in integrating rural development with data science.
Precision with Purpose
The platform’s primary users are India’s 80 million small and marginal dairy farmers, often managing just 2–5 animals each. Moo Rakshak addresses their challenges through personalised guidance, affordable feed solutions, and easy-to-use digital tools. The startup employs women micro-entrepreneurs for last-mile delivery and leverages FPOs, dairy co-ops, and agri-retailers for distribution and trust-building.
Its freemium business model offers basic advisory at no cost, with revenue streams from precision feed sales, paid subscriptions, and carbon credit partnerships.
Growing Recognition and Tangible Impact
Since its launch, Moo Rakshak has made significant strides in transforming India’s dairy landscape. With over 10,000 farmers impacted, the platform has delivered an average milk yield increase of 28% and a 3x return on investment per animal.
This impact has not gone unnoticed. Moo Rakshak was named one of the Top 50 Startups in Bharat Pitchathon Challenge 3.0 by HEADSTART in August 2024 and recognised among the Top 50 Social Impact Startups by the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge in collaboration with IIM Calcutta in September 2024.
It has also been featured in prominent media outlets like Dainik Jagran and DD Kisan. Further, the startup was selected as part of the India Delegation to the UAE’s GITEX Expand North Star Tech Event, representing Indian innovation on a global stage under the Ministry of Commerce.
Building for Bharat and Beyond
Moo Rakshak’s immediate focus is to scale across India’s dairy heartlands, deepen digital adoption, and forge partnerships for wider reach. Long-term, the startup aims to expand into South Asia and Africa, where smallholder dairy farming faces similar structural challenges.
Beyond numbers, Moo Rakshak is creating measurable environmental and social value: increasing farmer income by 25–30%, reducing feed costs by 15–20%, and cutting methane emissions by 10–12%.
