Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah today chaired a Manthan Meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with the Cooperation Ministers of all States and Union Territories under the theme ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’. During the Manthan Meeting, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth ₹265 crore related to ethanol, energy, organic potash, warehouses and protein powder plants. He also visited the exhibition and released a report on best practices in cooperatives and the International Year of Cooperatives. On this occasion, Union Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Shri Murlidhar Mohol, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, and several other dignitaries were present.

In his address, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the country is progressing in every sector. In the sectors that will determine the direction of the global economy over the next twenty-five years, India is today working as a pioneer. He said that this Manthan Meeting has been organized because we want to make India a fully developed nation by 2047. He said that a fully developed India means creating a system in which 140 crore people can live with dignity. He stated that cooperatives alone can become the medium through which every family and individual in India can live with dignity.

Shri Amit Shah said that unless agriculture, rural development and animal husbandry sectors are strengthened, comprehensive national development cannot be achieved. He said that all of us must work with dedication to make this effort successful. He said that over the past four years, we have adopted a scientific approach to advance the cooperative sector, and its results are now visible.

The Union Cooperation Minister emphasized key areas to enhance the acceptance of cooperatives. Stressing food grain storage, he said that storage capacity needs to be increased nearly threefold in the coming days, with twofold expansion to be undertaken by the cooperative sector. He said that this is everyone’s responsibility and should not be left solely to PACS; tehsil-level cooperative dairies, state-level marketing federations, district cooperative banks through financing, and district sales-purchase unions should construct large warehouses. He added that 70 percent of food grains are procured from North India — Punjab and Haryana — and if procurement, storage and distribution are aligned regionally, transportation costs can be reduced by at least 30–40 percent. The storage system across the country should be aligned and universally accessible.

Shri Amit Shah said that all States should make efforts to restart closed sugar mills. He said that a national-level cooperative has been formed. Sugar mills that are financially weak can undertake fertilizer and gas production, and successful experiments have demonstrated that up to eleven different products can be produced from sugar mills. He said that he would finalize the operational framework in the first week of March, and in sugar mills producing only sugar, the national-level cooperative will facilitate the addition of all other required components. For this, States will also need to adopt flexible policies.

The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that every State should send teams from their Dairy and Cooperation Departments to visit Banas Dairy. He said that Banas Dairy has undertaken various initiatives from which all States can learn significantly.

Emphasizing ‘Sahkarita mein Sahkar’ (Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives), the Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that all cooperative institutions should maintain their bank accounts with District Cooperative Banks. He said that the Government of India has decided that Cooperative Banks can be made nodal agencies for all Government of India schemes. He said that State Governments should ensure that funds under schemes such as PM-Kisan and old-age pensions are routed through these banks.

Shri Amit Shah said that in the coming days, cooperatives will also be formed for retail workers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians who are exploited, so that they receive fair and dignified remuneration. He said that in the coming days, more than 40 percent of the country’s population will be associated with the cooperative sector.

The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that Bharat Taxi will, in the coming years, reach every Municipal Corporation. More than 3 lakh drivers have already joined it. Both drivers and passengers will benefit from it.

Earlier, through various presentations in the Manthan Meeting, progress, achievements and future action plans of initiatives related to cooperatives were reviewed and evaluated. Discussions included progress in establishing 2 lakh new multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy and fisheries cooperative societies to accelerate the rural economy. Emphasis was laid on expanding a nationwide network of modern warehouses under the world’s largest grain storage scheme to ensure better storage, price stability and improved market access for farmers.

The meeting emphasized active participation of States in newly formed national cooperative institutions — National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) and Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) — to promote exports, organic farming and quality seed supply through cooperatives. Discussions were also held on time-appropriate reforms in State cooperative laws, adoption of the Model Act in line with the 97th Constitutional Amendment, improving economic viability and profitability of cooperative sugar mills, promoting circularity and sustainability in the dairy sector, and formation of new dairy cooperative societies in collaboration with Amul and NDDB.

The meeting also included detailed presentations and discussions on promoting pulses and maize production, resolving challenges related to cooperative banks, strengthening Shared Service Entities (SSE) and umbrella structures, expanding membership and awareness campaigns, and developing an effective media and communication strategy. In addition, expectations from States were shared regarding computerization of PACS and RCS offices, utilization of the National Cooperative Database, human resource development and training, and better implementation of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) schemes.

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RK / AK / RR / PR