Nepal seeks special permission from India to import cows

Nepal has sought special permission from India to import some 50,000 cows after Yoga guru Swami Ramdev offered to gift the animals as part of his plans to set up an Ayurvedic drug manufacturing company in the the Himalayan nation.

Nepal's request came as Indian laws do not allow export of cows to foreign countries.

"The government recently sent a request letter to the Indian government through the ministry of foreign affairs to provide special privilege for importing cows from India," Nepalese minister for agriculture and co-operatives Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav said.

The high breed cows being gifted by Ramdev, founder of Patanjali Yoga Peeth, will be used for acquiring dung and urine for the proposed drug company which can, with the aid of the cows, produce up to 22 litres of milk per day.

"Guru Ramdev has assured us to provide 50,000 cows of Haryana and Saibal breeds free of cost. We are busy preparing a framework comprising minimum standards for import," Purushottam Mainali, joint secretary at the ministry, was quoted as saying by a website.

According to officials at the ministry, the import of the cows will also solve the problem of milk shortage in the country.

Ramdev has visited Nepal twice over the past five years and tens of thousands of Nepalese had attended his Yoga camps.