Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a new Ministry of Cooperation was created on 6 July 2021 to provide renewed impetus to the growth of the cooperative sector and realize the vision of Cooperation to Prosperity, says a press release from the Ministry of Cooperation.
The release adds that under the dynamic leadership of the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, the Ministry has been working incessantly for the development of the cooperative sector for the formulation of new schemes and a new Cooperation Policy.
Digitization of Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS), creation of the National Database of Cooperative Societies, a scheme for cooperative education and training, and an umbrella scheme named Sahkar se Samriddhi (Prosperity Through Cooperation) are amongst the many such initiatives taken by the Ministry to deepen and strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, says the release. The Ministry of Cooperation is also formulating a new National Cooperation Policy which may address the new economic and social realities.
In this background, a two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy is being organized in New Delhi on 12-13 April 2022. The conference will be inaugurated by Amit Shah. The Minister of State for Cooperation BL Varma will also grace the occasion.
More than two dozen ministries represented by Secretaries and Joint Secretaries, all State Governments and Union Territories represented by their Chief Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Registrar Cooperatives and heads of around 40 cooperative and other major national institutions will participate in this conference.
This conference is structured into the following six important themes not only covering the whole life cycle of cooperatives but also touching upon all facets of their business and governance:
- Present legal framework, identification of regulatory policy, operational barriers and measures required for their removal, leading to Ease of Doing Business and providing a level playing field to cooperatives and other economic entities.
- Reforms for strengthening governance, including cooperative principles, democratic member control, increasing member participation, transparency, regular elections, HR policy, leveraging international and national best practices, account keeping and auditing.
- Making cooperatives vibrant economic entities by strengthening infrastructure, strengthening equity base, access to capital, diversification of activities, promoting entrepreneurship, promoting branding, marketing, business plan development, innovation, technology adoption and exports.
- Training, education, knowledge sharing and awareness building, including mainstreaming cooperatives, linking training with entrepreneurship, the inclusion of women, youth and weaker sections.
- Promoting new cooperatives, revitalizing defunct ones, promoting cooperation among cooperatives, increasing membership, formalizing collectives, developing cooperatives for sustainable growth, mitigating regional imbalances and exploring new sectors.
- Promoting social cooperatives and the role of cooperatives in social security.
Under the guidance of Amit Shah, the Ministry is going to organize a series of such conferences with different stakeholders, this being the first. Shortly, another workshop is proposed with all cooperative federations to invite their views. These efforts will culminate in the formulation of a new robust National Cooperation Policy, giving impetus to strengthen the cooperative-based economic model in the country.