From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Co-operatives unite for Co-op Week

India witnessed a massive show of cooperative unity on Monday as the Ministry of Cooperation, national federations, state governments and thousands of cooperative institutions launched Cooperative Week 2026, marking the beginning of celebrations commemorating five years of the Ministry of Cooperation.

The nationwide campaign commenced with ‘Shubharambh & Pratigya Diwas’, during which cooperation ministers, chief ministers, senior officials and cooperative leaders administered the Cooperation Pledge, reaffirming their commitment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi.”

Leading the national celebrations in New Delhi, Union Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani administered the Cooperation Pledge to officials and staff of the Ministry and its affiliated organisations. He said cooperatives would continue to play a central role in building Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) inaugurated Cooperative Week with ‘Shubharambh & Pratigya Diwas’, where Director, Ministry of Cooperation and NCUI CEO Pankaj Srivastava called for greater cooperation among cooperative institutions. NCUI also unveiled its week-long calendar featuring PACS Transformation Day, Farmers’ Day, IT & Technology Day, Green Cooperative Day and Youth Cooperative Day.

The celebrations quickly spread across the country. In Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated Sahkar Se Samriddhi, Cooperative Week 2026 and flagged off a Cooperative Awareness Van to promote public participation in the cooperative movement.

In Goa, Cooperation Minister Subhash Shirodkar inaugurated the state-level Cooperative Week celebrations organised jointly by the Cooperation Department and NABARD at Ponda.

In Uttarakhand, Cooperation Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat launched the week-long campaign from Pauri by flagging off a Cooperative Awareness Vehicle and urging cooperatives to accelerate rural development, farmer empowerment and women’s economic participation.

In Tamil Nadu, Cooperation Minister V. Gandhiraj inaugurated Cooperative Week by hoisting the cooperative flag and administering the Cooperation Pledge at the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Union.

In Rajasthan, Cooperation Minister Gautam Dak launched the statewide campaign from Jaipur while unveiling several digital initiatives aimed at making cooperatives more transparent and technology-driven.

In Bihar, Cooperation Minister Ramkripal Yadav said the new National Cooperative Policy would further strengthen PACS and grassroots cooperatives, while inaugurating Cooperative Week in Patna.

In Chhattisgarh, Cooperative Week was inaugurated at the Raipur District Central Cooperative Bank in the presence of leaders of the Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Bank, with emphasis on expanding cooperative outreach across the state.

Odisha launched its celebrations at Cooperative Bhavan, Bhubaneswar, while Uttar Pradesh observed Pratigya Diwas across PACS, DCCBs and field-level cooperative societies.

National cooperative institutions also joined the celebrations in large numbers. KRIBHCO organised farmers’ meetings and awareness programmes across India; NAFCUB launched a cyber security webinar for Urban Cooperative Banks; TRIFED, NCCT, FISHCOPFED, APCOB, VAMNICOM Pune, NICM Chennai, RICM Bengaluru, Gujcomasol and several other organisations organised pledge ceremonies, tree plantation drives, training programmes and outreach initiatives.

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the opening day of Cooperative Week witnessed unprecedented participation by cooperative institutions, reinforcing the sector’s collective resolve to strengthen India’s cooperative movement and transform “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” into a nationwide people’s movement.