Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) (Amendment) Act and Rules, 2023 have introduced sweeping governance reforms to strengthen transparency, accountability and democratic functioning in multi-state cooperative societies, including cooperative banks.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Shah said the amendments seek to curb the dominance of a few individuals by establishing a Cooperative Election Authority for transparent elections, prescribing quorum for board meetings, mandating disclosure of non-unanimous board decisions, restricting directors from participating in decisions involving their relatives, and extending the minimum expulsion period for members acting against the society’s interests from one year to three years.
The law also provides for the appointment of a Cooperative Ombudsman to address members’ grievances.
The minister further said the amended law introduces stringent eligibility norms for Chief Executives of MSCSs, including age limits, disqualification of insolvents and convicted persons, and mandatory ‘fit and proper’ criteria. Separate eligibility norms have also been notified for credit and non-credit multi-state cooperative societies.
