Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Saturday announced that the government would take steps to ensure full deposit protection for investors in the cooperative sector, saying that restoring public confidence was its foremost priority.
Inaugurating the state-level celebrations of the 73rd All India Cooperative Week at Samra International Convention Centre, Kalamassery, he said the existing deposit guarantee of Rs 5 lakh was inadequate to provide sufficient security to depositors.
He said the government aimed to bring deposit protection in cooperative institutions on a par with nationalised and scheduled banks, adding that no depositor should lose their hard-earned money.
Satheesan urged political parties to introspect and address the challenges facing the cooperative sector. He stressed the importance of appointing honest and trustworthy individuals to cooperative institutions and restoring the credibility built by earlier generations of cooperators.
He also called for channelising cooperative deposits into productive projects instead of allowing funds to remain idle in banks.
