Amit Shah said that the ministry of cooperation is committed to transform cooperatives into vibrant and successful business units under the leadership of PM Modi. He said that 35,395 new cooperative societies have been formed so far against a target of 2 lakh multipurpose cooperative societies.
Union home minister and minister of cooperation, Amit Shah, chaired the second meeting of the consultative committee of the ministry of cooperation on the initiatives of the ministry to strengthen the cooperative sector in New Delhi on Tuesday. the meeting was attended by union ministers of state for cooperation Krishan Pal and Murlidhar Mohol, members of the committee, secretary of the ministry of cooperation, and other senior officers of the ministry.
Addressing the meeting, union home minister and minister of cooperation, Amit Shah, said that under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi, the ministry of cooperation is committed to transform cooperatives into vibrant and successful business units. He said that in their ambitious target to set up 2 lakh multipurpose cooperative societies in the country in 5 years, 35,395 new cooperative societies have been formed so far, which include 6,182 are multipurpose primary agricultural credit societies (MPACS), 27,562 are dairy and 1,651 are fisheries cooperative societies.
Traditional Seeds
Amit Shah said that the cooperative sector can open the way to prosperity for the landless and poor people. He said that three national level cooperative societies have been formed for the prosperity of the cooperative sector, agriculture and farmers. He said that the National Cooperative Organic Limited (NCOL) ensures the certification, branding, packaging and marketing of organic products of farmers so that farmers can get a good price for their produce. He said that the National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL) provides all the facilities related to exporting the farmers’ products to the international market, whereby the full profit goes to the farmers. Shah said that the Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) works towards the conservation, storage and production of traditional seeds of India. The Union Minister of Cooperation said that the government will enter into contracts with small farmers for traditional seeds so that they can also benefit out of it.
Union minister of cooperation asked all the members of the consultative committee to strengthen the dairy sector in their respective states to give a boost to cooperatives. He said that the ministry of cooperation has taken more than 100 initiatives in the last four years to strengthen primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), dairy, fisheries, cooperative banks, sugar cooperatives and cooperative governance systems. He said that the National Cooperative Policy-2025 provides a comprehensive roadmap for sustainable cooperative development in the country. This roadmap also includes coordination with government of India schemes, such as pradhan mantri matsya sampada yojana (PMMSY), national dairy development programme (NPDD) and others to strengthen the cooperative ecosystem at the grassroots level. He said that efforts are being made to increase milk procurement by 50 per cent in the next five years under the White Revolution 2.0 led by cooperatives.
White Revolution 2.0
During the meeting, the ministry of cooperation made a presentation to the committee on various initiatives taken in the last four years. it was informed by the ministry that institutional mechanisms such as inter-ministerial committee (IMC), national level coordination committee (NLCC), state cooperative development committees (SCDC), and district cooperative development committees (DCDC) have been set up for effective implementation and monitoring. More than 100 initiatives have been taken by the ministry of cooperation in the last four years to strengthen PACS, dairy, fisheries, cooperative banks, sugar cooperatives and governance systems including digital reforms, policy changes, financial support and institutional capacity building.
The ministry of cooperation conveyed that the Tribhuvan Sahkari University, established through a Parliamentary Act, has been declared an institution of national importance. This university will integrate and standardise cooperative education and training in India and provide skilled human resources for the cooperative sector.
Under the cooperative-led White Revolution 2.0, efforts are being made to increase milk procurement by 50 per cent over the next five years. So far, 15,691 new dairy cooperative societies have been registered and 11,871 existing DCSs have been strengthened. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and 25 Milk Unions across 15 states have signed MoUs to establish biogas plants in dairy cooperatives. They added that three new multi-state cooperative societies have been established in the sectors of organic products, exports and seeds, with the objective of enhancing scale, quality and branding in the cooperative value chain.
The consultative committee put forth its suggestions to further strengthen the cooperative sector. The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to empower cooperatives as engines of growth, equality and self-reliance in rural India.
