Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah is poised to inaugurate the ‘National Cooperative Database’ on 8th March 2024 at the NASC Complex, ICAR, PUSA, New Delhi.
The development of this database, aimed at consolidating information on approximately 8 lakh cooperatives across various sectors nationwide, was initiated in collaboration with State/UT Governments, National Cooperative Federations, Central line Ministries, and other stakeholders.
The primary objective behind establishing this database is to provide a centralized platform offering accurate and up-to-date information on cooperatives. This encompasses details such as location, membership count, economic activities, ICT usage, employment, financial transactions, assets, and liabilities.
Various committees, including the Steering Committee chaired by the Additional Secretary and the Advisory Committee, have been instrumental in driving the implementation of the National Cooperative Database.
The Ministry of Cooperation, established on 6th July 2021, aims to foster prosperity through cooperation by leveraging India’s social and economic capital. With approximately 8.5 lakh cooperative units operating in India, both credit and non-credit cooperatives play a significant role in diverse sectors such as agriculture, industry, healthcare, and more.
Cooperatives serve as pillars of social capital, fostering trust and connectivity within communities while pursuing common economic goals. However, there’s a pressing need to enhance their governance, operational efficiency, and technological adoption to ensure sustained growth.
To address these challenges and deepen the cooperative movement, there’s a call for a coordinated effort between the central and state governments. This involves the establishment of a comprehensive nationwide database on cooperative development, equipped with the latest technology and management systems for effective decision-making.
The proposed database is expected to address issues such as data redundancy, facilitate better visualization, ensure information consistency, and enable efficient data sharing across sectors. Moreover, it will empower timely decision-making, assess the contribution of cooperatives to employment and wealth generation, and identify root causes of failures.
However, several challenges lie ahead, including determining the parameters for data capture, developing standardized templates for diverse sectors, ensuring data accuracy and reliability, and involving state machinery in data verification.
The inauguration of the National Cooperative Database marks a significant step towards streamlining cooperative operations and fostering their role in India’s socio-economic development.