India Today Cooperative Summit
The Union government has reiterated its commitment to strengthen the system of cooperatives, which have their roots in India's past. For this, a massive expansion in the distribution and reach of cooperative societies covering all panchayats is on the anvil. The move will allow these primary credit societies to go beyond their legacy mandate of providing short-term agriculture loans to finance multifarious activities, like cooking gas distribution and taxi service.These were among the slew of announcements made at the maiden india today 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' summit in Mumbai on June 20. The event was attended by Amit Shah, Union home minister and minister of cooperation; Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister of agriculture and farmers' welfare and minister of rural development; and Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister, Maharashtra, among other dignitaries.advertisementShah said while the country is known for the cooperation movement, it has an uneven presence. It is strong in western states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa, but has been weakened in the northern and eastern states. The government now plans to ensure that not even a single village panchayat is bereft of a cooperative society.Chouhan said the government is working to ensure food security and a nutritious diet and soil safety besides increasing agricultural incomes.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with NCCF Chairman Vishal Singh, KRIBHCO Chairman Dr Chandra Pal Singh, NCUI Chairman Dileep Sanghani, NAFED Chairman Jethabhai Ahir inaugurating the event
advertisementFadnavis pointed out how a sector like cooperatives, which has a rich history, had no separate ministry in the Union government. 'Prime Minister Modiji recognised the power of cooperation and created a separate Ministry of Cooperation for the first time in India,' he said.The summit also saw prizes being distributed to winners of various competitions, grants of equity to three Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) supported by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd), and distribution of certificates to five FPOs for launch of NAFED Bazaar franchisees.Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home, Minister of Cooperation
The Union government is identifying vacuum areas in the cooperatives sector and will establish 200,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) across the country, the Union home minister and minister of cooperation Amit Shah said at the summit. This, he added, would ensure a cooperative society in all the village panchayats in India.'We have computerised all PACS, and almost 52,000 of71,000 PACs have gone live. Model bylaws have been prepared at the central level, and I am happy that all states have accepted them. Under this, the PACS can do 24 types of work,' Shah said. 'They were earlier into short-term agriculture finance, and now they can also be CSCs (Common Service Centres), Jan Aushadhi Kendras, petrol pumps and gas distributors. They would maintain water supply schemes, build godowns, run cooperative taxis, and make air and rail bookings.'advertisementIn three years, the government has launched the National Cooperative Exports Ltd, National Cooperative Organics Ltd and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Ltd. These cooperatives will sell agricultural produce in world markets, and the profits will be directly credited to the farmers' bank accounts. Organic products will be certified and sold under the 'Bharat Organic' brand in local and international markets. This will ensure gains for farmers as well as the end-users who will get certified organic products. Shah expressed confidence that in the next 10 years, these three new cooperatives will grow into major institutions like Amul, NAFED, IFFCO and KRIBHCO that serve farmers.Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development
Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the people of this 1.4 billion-strong country should get a stomach full of food. There was a time when India was forced to eat imported American wheat, but now, Chouhan said, he could 'say with pride' that the country has sufficient stocks of wheat, rice and maize, and is even exporting foodgrains. He added that under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, they have set a roadmap for agriculture, which includes boosting per-hectare production, reducing the capital costs of farming, ensuring remunerative pricing for produce and diversification. 'We are now in the 11th year, and if we consider agricultural production—be it foodgrains, fruits or vegetables—it has risen by 44 per cent under PM Modi's helmsmanship,' he said.advertisement
REVIVING ROOTS: 1. Kumar Ram Krishna, Director, Ministry of Cooperation; 2. (from left) Dr Chandra Pal Singh, Dileep Sanghani, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jethabhai Ahir with the winner of International Year of Cooperatives Painting Competition Rajwi Vinay Nile; 3. Manikrao Kokate with Jethabhai Ahir; 4. Eknath Shinde distributing Franchise Certificate to P. Rajendran; 5. (from left) Yogendra Kumar, Chairman, Seed Cooperative Society; Deepak Pareek, Director, Global Partnerships and Trade, Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture; Kumar Ram Krishna; A.V. Ravindra Prasad, GM, NABARD
COLLECTIVE GAIN: 1. (from left) NAFED MD Deepak Agrawal, Dr Chandra Pal Singh, Dileep Sanghani, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jethabhai Ahir, Vishal Singh and COBI Chairman Ajay Patel release a NAFED booklet, 2. Gajanan Patil of Girnamai Fed Farmer Producer Company Ltd receives equ ity grant from Fadnavis in the presence of Amit Shah, 3. Yogendra Kumar, Chairman, Seed Cooperative Society, 4. A.V. Ravindra Prasad, 5. A performance of Lavni, Maharashtra's traditional dance
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