Sridhar Rao, State Member of the BJP Cooperative Cell in Karnataka and Founder President of Gnana Shaale Multi State Cooperative Society Ltd., has proposed a series of reforms aimed at accelerating the growth and strengthening the cooperative movement across the country.
In a representation submitted to the Union Cooperation Ministry, Rao suggested that underperforming cooperative societies should be compulsorily merged through suitable legal provisions, similar to the consolidation measures adopted in the banking sector over the years.
According to him, bringing weak societies under larger and stronger cooperative entities would improve efficiency, governance and sustainability.
He further proposed that high-performing cooperative societies willing to join hands voluntarily should be allowed to obtain banking licences from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to establish cooperative banks.
Such a framework, he said, would encourage well-managed cooperatives to expand their financial services and contribute more effectively to economic development.
Rao stated that these reforms could help create stronger institutions, enhance public confidence in cooperatives and take the cooperative movement to greater heights in the coming years.