NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg to see the progress of the cooperative sector. The topics included supporting “Sahkar Se Samruddhi,” using technology for change, enhancing youth and women’s engagement in cooperatives, and assessing important initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation.
The prime minister emphasised the role of international collaboration in increasing the size of the Indian cooperative sector and urged the marketing of organic produce through cooperative organisations. He recommended targeting export markets and working on a soil test model via cooperatives to enhance farm practices. He also pointed out the necessity of working on the integration of UPI with RuPay Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to make financial transactions and encouraged positive competition among cooperative organisations.
To facilitate transparency, the prime minister stressed the documentation of cooperative organisations’ assets. He also suggested advocating cooperative farming as a sustainable agricultural model and utilising digital public infrastructure (Agristack) to scale up agricultural activity in the cooperative sector. This, he pointed out, would increase farmers’ access to services.
In the educational field, the prime minister suggested introducing cooperative-related courses in institutions, colleges, and schools like IIMs. He advocated encouraging successful cooperative organisations to act as role models for future generations and urged young graduates to give back to the sector. Moreover, he suggested ranking cooperative organisations according to their performance to stimulate growth and competitiveness.
In the meeting, the prime minister was informed about the National Cooperation Policy and some of the significant achievements of the Ministry of Cooperation in the last three and a half years. The Ministry has also prepared a draft of the National Cooperation Policy 2025 based on widespread consultations. The policy will help streamline the systematic and integrated growth of the cooperative sector, speeding up rural economic development with special emphasis on women and youth. It aims to build an economy of a cooperation-based economic model, strengthen the legal and institutional structure, extend the impact to the grassroots, and boost the contribution of the sector towards national development.
Since its inception, the ministry has launched 60 initiatives across seven key areas to strengthen the cooperative movement. These include the digitisation of cooperative institutions through the National Cooperative Database and Computerisation Projects, as well as the reinforcement of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). Additionally, efforts have been made to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of cooperative sugar mills.
The Centre has launched different schemes for cooperative societies on a “whole of government approach,” merging more than 15 schemes of over 10 ministries at the PACS level. This has resulted in the diversification of cooperative businesses, additional income, greater opportunities for cooperatives, and better accessibility to government schemes in rural areas.