NEW DELHI: Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah on Thursday said mass production is necessary for economic development of India but “production by the masses” is also very important for this country of 130 crore population, and this can be possible only through the cooperative model.
“Our cooperative policy will take the country far ahead. We have set the focus of this policy on free registration, computerisation, democratic elections, ensuring active membership, professionalism in governance and leadership, transparency and accountability,” said Shah while addressing the inaugural session of the two-day national conference of state cooperative ministers.
Shah also emphasised on expanding the base of primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) through setting up three lakh new such societies in the next five years, broadening the mandate of the cooperatives in areas such as health, insurance, tourism, processing, storage and services, and allowing PACS to disburse medium and long-term finance through ‘Kheti Bank’. Currently, PACS are engaged only in disbursing short-term finance.
Shah said the government in the next two months will form a multistate cooperative by merging four or five big cooperatives at the national level for seed culture and marketing, and certification of organic products, which will directly benefit farmers involved in organic farming. “Along with this, Amul, Iffco, Nafed, NCDC and Kribhco are going to form a multistate export house which will work to export khadi products, handicrafts and agriculture products to the global market. To export the product of the smallest cooperative unit, it will become a multi-state cooperative export house and this itself will take it further,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of cooperatives in the country’s economic development in the coming decades, the minister said now the cooperative movement cannot be treated as a second class citizen.
