PM Modi reviews progress of cooperative sector, discusses National Cooperation Policy 2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Thursday to review the progress of the cooperative sector. During the discussions, the Prime Minister was briefed on the draft of the National Cooperation Policy 2025 and the key achievements of the Ministry of Cooperation over the past three and a half years.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need for partnerships with global cooperative organizations and the promotion of organic products through cooperatives, with a focus on export markets. He also highlighted the importance of integrating UPI with RuPay Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to facilitate financial transactions, according to an official statement.

Additionally, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of documenting the assets of cooperative organizations to ensure transparency. He recommended leveraging digital public infrastructure (Agristack) to expand agriculture and related activities in the cooperative sector, providing farmers with better access to services. He also suggested promoting cooperative farming as a more sustainable agricultural model.

To further strengthen the cooperative movement, the Prime Minister proposed introducing cooperative courses in schools, colleges, and IIMs. He also advocated for the promotion of successful cooperative organizations to inspire future generations. Furthermore, he suggested ranking cooperative organizations based on their performance to encourage healthy competition.

Since its inception, the Ministry of Cooperation has undertaken 60 initiatives across seven key areas to promote and strengthen the cooperative sector. These include the digitization of cooperative institutions through the National Cooperative Database and Computerization Projects, as well as the strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). Additionally, the Ministry has focused on enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of cooperative sugar mills.

The Government of India has implemented various schemes for cooperative societies through a "whole-of-government approach," integrating over 15 schemes from more than 10 ministries at the PACS level. To promote cooperative education, training, and research, and to provide skilled professionals, a bill has been introduced in Parliament to convert IRMA Anand into "Tribhuvan Cooperative University" and grant it the status of an Institution of National Importance.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that currently, one-fifth of the country's population is associated with the cooperative sector, which includes over 8.2 lakh cooperative institutions spanning more than 30 sectors, with a membership exceeding 30 crore individuals.

The meeting was attended by Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Principal Secretary to the PM Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary-2 to the PM Shaktikanta Das, Advisor to the PM Amit Khare, and other senior officials.