The program of STEP advocates the objectives of extending training for upgradation
of skills and sustainable employment for women through a variety of action-oriented projects, which employ women in large number.

The scheme covers 8 traditional sectors of employment. Dairying and Animal Husbandry is one such sector, which gives sustainable employment and income.

The STEP program is implemented with 90% financial assistance from Government of India's Human Resource Development Division, Women and Child Development Department. And 10% contribution should be made by the implementing agencies.

The program of STEP aims to make a significant impact on women in traditional sectors (dairying & animal husbandry) by upgrading skills and providing employment to women on a project basis by mobilizing women in viable groups, improving skills, arranging for productive assets (milch animals), creating forward and backward linkages, improving/ arranging support services, providing access to credit, awareness generation, gender sensitization, nutrition education, sensitization of project functionaries.

Thus STEP advocates an integrated package of inputs aiming at the integrated development of poor women in traditional sector, to enable them economically more viable, independent and raise their socio-economic status 

The main developmental objective is the organization of the Women DCS in rural areas by mobilizing women viable groups and generating self-employment opportunities and to take up dairying as their occupation.

The target group to be covered under STEP program include marginalized assetless rural women and urban poor. This includes wage laborer, unpaid daily worker, female headed house-holds, migrant tribal and other dispossessed group 

The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India has sanctioned 3 STEP Projects each having 3 year duration for implementation in Karnataka. The financial outlay is as follows:

The project area covers all the 27 districts of Karnataka State coming under the jurisdiction of 13 District Milk Unions under the project area of KMF.

The ultimate objective of the project is to develop women group to be self-reliant on self-sustaining basis with the minimal Government support and intervention after the project period is over.