On Thursday, Union Home and Cooperative Minister Amit Shah urged the States and the Union Territories (UTs) to pursue the cooperative movement forward in the spirit of team India.
“We will have to play a role of a team India for the development of cooperatives. Different states will have to come forward in the role of a trustee for the development of cooperatives,” Shah said.
Shah stated that “if we want to take forward the cooperative movement we will have to follow one direction and one policy.”
Shah stressed the equal existence of cooperatives in all states and UTs, and he said that this would need a “new cooperation policy.”
The current National Policy on Cooperatives was created in 2002 with the objectives of facilitating cooperative development on all levels and providing them with the necessary support, encouragement, and assistance to ensure that cooperatives operate as independent, self-sufficient, democratically managed institutions accountable to their members and contribute significantly to the national economy.
In order to build a strong cooperative movement, the cooperation minister also emphasised the necessity of strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
Speaking to the gathering, which comprised 21 ministers from various states and the lieutenant governors of Chandigarh and Ladakh, Shah said, “By strengthening the PACS, we will be able to strengthen the cooperative movement more.”
Participants at the conference include B.L. Verma, Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Cooperation Ministers, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Cooperative Registrars, and representatives of all 36 state governments and Union Territories in the nation.
The National Cooperation Policy and National Cooperative Database, as well as recently proposed programs like PACS in every Panchayat, export of agricultural and other products, marketing and promotion of organic products, and expansion of co-operatives to new areas, will all be covered in the conference.
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