Amit Shah, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister, has announced the formation of a national level committee to draft the national cooperation policy document. The committee, chaired by former Union minister Suresh Prabhu, consists of 47 members from across the country. It comprises cooperative sector experts, representatives from national, state, district, and primary cooperative societies, secretaries (cooperation) and registrars of cooperative societies in states and Union territories, and officers from central ministries and departments. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, a new national cooperative policy is being formulated to realise the vision of ‘Sahakar Se Samriddhi.’
Today, India has around 8.5 lakh cooperative societies with a member base of around 29 crore, spread across the length and breadth of the country. These cooperatives are engaged in varied activities like agro-processing, dairying, fisheries, housing, weaving, credit, marketing, to name a few. The new policy will go a long way in strengthening the co-operative movement in the country.
