Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired the first meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Cooperation on ‘Initiatives taken and currently being taken to strengthen cooperative societies’ in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers of State for Cooperation, Shri Krishan Pal and Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Members of the Committee, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation and senior officers of the Ministry. The committee discussed various issues related to the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Cooperation since its establishment and the current efforts being made to empower cooperative societies.

Addressing the meeting, Shri Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi established a separate Ministry of Cooperation for the welfare of farmers and rural areas across the country and gave the mantra of "Sahkar Se Samriddhi”. He mentioned that the Modi government believes that both employment generation and prosperity of rural areas are possible through cooperation.

Shri Amit Shah said that the cooperative movement was strong in the country for a few years after independence, but later it got weakened in most states. He mentioned that after the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation at the Centre, the first task was to create a database of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in collaboration with the states and initiate the process of registering two lakh PACS. He said that the work to develop the National Cooperative Database is almost complete, and now, information about cooperative societies across the country, categorized by region, is available at one click. Shri Shah said that steps have been taken for the computerization of PACS. He added that in the coming times, there will not be a single panchayat in the country where PACS will not be available.

Union Minister of Cooperation said that the model by-laws created to make PACS 'viable' have been adopted by almost all states in the country. He added that PACS have been linked to more than 20 activities and have now started providing services such as Common Service Centres, Jan Aushadhi Kendras, and other services.

Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Cooperation has introduced a bill for the establishment of Tribhuvan Sahkari University, it will be passed by the Parliament soon. The establishment of this university will provide technical education, accounting, administrative knowledge, and training to professionals entering the cooperative sector. Shri Shah added that this will ensure the availability of trained manpower in the cooperative sector.

Union Minister of Cooperation said that national-level cooperative organizations such as National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samriti Limited (BBSSL) have been established, which will help promote exports, organic products, and advanced seeds in the cooperative sector. He added that these initiatives will lead to significant changes in the cooperative sector in the coming years.

Shri Amit Shah said, that it is the endeavour of the government that the cooperative sector gets the same opportunities as the corporate sector. He said that the Ministry of Cooperation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank, and Income Tax Department, has taken steps to make one tax structure for the corporate and cooperative sectors. Minister of Cooperation expressed confidence that the enterprises associated with the country's cooperative sector will progress in competition with the corporate world and will fulfill Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of "Sahkar Se Samriddhi”. 

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation informed the Consultative Committee that a roadmap has been made for the rapid development of national federations associated with cooperation, in collaboration with Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO), Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and other federations. He mentioned that currently, PACS are involved in booking railway tickets, and expressed confidence that due to the initiatives of the Ministry of Cooperation, PACS will soon be able to sell airline tickets as well.

Shri Amit Shah said that in view of the regional disparity in the development of cooperatives in the country, the government is taking special steps to bring uniform balanced development in all the states.

Union Minister of Cooperation said that after the huge success of the initiative of 'Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives' in Gujarat, it will be implemented in other states of the country as well.

In the meeting, the committee members provided their suggestions on issues related to empowering cooperative societies in the country and appreciated the important steps taken by the government to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

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RK/VV/PR/PS