Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Dr. Ashish Bhutani chaired a two-day review meeting on August 27 and 31 at Atal Akshay Urja Bhawan, New Delhi, with representatives of States and Union Territories to assess progress on major cooperative-sector initiatives and stress effective implementation of ongoing programmes.
The review covered a wide range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperative ecosystem at the grassroots level. Key areas included computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), formation and revival of cooperative societies, expansion of membership, data verification and adoption of Model Bye-Laws.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of active and inactive cooperative societies and measures to improve the quality and reliability of cooperative-sector data. Officials discussed NCD Portal 3.0 and the NCD GeoTag Mobile Application, which are expected to strengthen digital monitoring, verification and management of cooperative institutions.
PACS-led grain storage projects were another important area of discussion. The initiative seeks to strengthen the role of PACS in creating decentralised storage infrastructure while supporting farmers and improving the efficiency of the agricultural supply chain.
Modernisation and digitisation of cooperative banks also featured prominently in the review. Discussions focused on integration and technology adoption to strengthen cooperative banking institutions and enable them to provide more efficient services to members and customers.
The meeting further examined verification of data relating to dairy and fisheries cooperatives, sectors that have emerged as important pillars of the government’s strategy to expand the cooperative movement. Membership outreach and efforts to bring more people into cooperative institutions were also reviewed.
Capacity building received particular attention, with the meeting stressing the need to strengthen cooperative training institutions through improved training programmes and institutional support. The emphasis reflects the Ministry’s broader approach of combining technological transformation with human resource development.
The review meeting reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building a strong, inclusive and technology-enabled cooperative ecosystem under the vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”. The Ministry stressed that successful implementation at the State and UT level would be crucial to translating various cooperative initiatives into tangible benefits for members and rural communities.
Additional Secretaries Pankaj Kumar Bansal and Siddharth Jain, Joint Secretaries Anand Kumar Jha, Raman Kumar and Shiv Pal Singh, along with other senior officials of the Ministry of Cooperation, participated in the review.
The extensive review underscores the Ministry’s continued focus on monitoring implementation, improving digital systems and expanding the reach of cooperatives across the country.
