Union Minister Amit Shah To be Chief Guest of 100th International Day of Cooperatives

The Union Minister for Home and Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah will be the Chief Guest at the celebrations of the 100^th International Day of Cooperatives, jointly organized by the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India and National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) on July 4 at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi. The NCUI is an apex organization of the cooperative movement in India with a focus on cooperative education and training.

The theme of 100th International Cooperative Day is “Cooperatives Build  a Better World”.  Considering the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat in creating a better world, the Ministry of Cooperation and NCUI are organizing the event with the theme “Cooperatives Build an Atmanirbhar Bharat and Better World.” The basic concept and vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat is based on the self-sustainable growth of the Indian economy; and India’s cooperative model is aligned with the Government of India’s emphasis on building an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The cooperative movement in India is the largest in the world. At present, cooperatives in India with a network of over 8.5 lakh covering 90 percent of the villages, are pivotal institutions for bringing socio-economic development for inclusive growth in both rural and urban areas. AMUL, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NAFED, etc. are some of the well- known success stories of the cooperative movement in India.

In order to give proper impetus to the cooperative sector under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Union Government had created the Ministry of Cooperation in July 2021. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah was given the charge of the newly formed Ministry of Cooperation. After its formation, the ministry is working on drafting a new cooperative policy and schemes, and is making continuous progress under the guidance of Shri Amit Shah.

There is immense potential for development and empowerment of farmers, agriculture and rural areas of the country in the cooperative sector. That is why under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Union government is empowering the cooperative sector with the mantra of 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi'.

Recently the Union Cabinet has taken an important decision to further strengthen the cooperative sector by approving the computerization of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with the objective of increasing efficiency of PACS, bringing transparency and accountability in their operations; facilitating PACS to diversify their business and undertake multiple activities/ services. This project proposes computerization of about 63,000 functional PACS over a period of 5 years with a total budget outlay of Rs. 2,516 crore.

Cooperatives will be celebrating the 100th International Day of Cooperatives (CoopsDay) on July 2 across the globe.   This marks a decade from the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives 2012, showcasing the unique contribution of world cooperatives by adhering to a human-centred business model which is inspired by cooperative principles and values. The aim of the International Day of Cooperatives is to increase awareness of cooperatives and promote the movement’s ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality and world peace. Cooperatives provide jobs to 10 percent of the employed population, and the 300 largest cooperatives or mutuals generate US $ 2,146 billion turnover.

The Union Minister for Dairy and Fisheries Shri Parshottam Rupala, the Minister of State for Cooperation Shri B.L. Verma, and President, ICA-AP Dr. Chandra Pal Singh will also be amongst those attending the celebrations. The meeting will be presided over by President, NCUI Dileep Sanghani.