The Ministry of Cooperation is celebrating the UN–International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) – 2025 with the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World”, which was officially launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the ICA Global Cooperative Conference held in 2024. As part of the commemoration, the Ministry has undertaken a series of special initiatives and events to highlight the significant role of cooperatives in fostering inclusive, participatory, and sustainable development, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To commemorate IYC–2025, a comprehensive Annual Action Plan was prepared in consultation with all stakeholders of the cooperative sector and was officially released by the Hon’ble Union Home and Cooperation Minister on 24^th January 2025 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Action Plan includes a wide range of activities such as awareness campaigns, capacity- building programmes, and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Since its release, all the stakeholders across the country, have been actively implementing these initiatives at various levels under the banner of IYC–2025.

As part of the nationwide awareness and outreach efforts, the IYC logo has been prominently displayed on Indian Railways E-tickets, official websites of Ministries/Departments, cooperative product packaging (e.g., milk packets), and during all matches of the Women’s Premier League 2025. Additionally, a special edition of Kurukshetra Magazine (July 2025 issue) has been published to showcase the achievements of the cooperative sector.

A major national-level initiative was the National Conference of State Cooperation Ministers, held on 30th June 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Union Home and Cooperation Minister. Various major activities were organised by States/UTs e.g., Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan etc.

The initiatives undertaken by the Ministry are intended to promote inclusive participation across all States/UTs and sectors of the cooperative ecosystem. Special emphasis has been given to organize various activities on increasing transparency, improving operational efficiency, enhancing accountability, promoting cooperation among cooperatives, actively engaging youth and women in cooperative initiatives, and strengthening cooperative governance through the adoption and implementation of model bye-laws.

This was stated by the Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

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RK/VV/PR/PS/HS

(Release ID: 2147168)