India will outnumber China soon; co-ops only means to feed all: MoS

Inaugurating the 69th All India Cooperative Week organized by NCUI on Monday, MoS B.L. Verma said that India would outnumber China soon in terms of population and to cater to the needs of such a vast mass of people only co-operative could be an effective means.

Reiterating the PM’s mantra of “Sahakar se Samriddhi”, Verma said that the new Ministry under the able leadership of Amit Shah has taken several initiatives to achieve the same within a short span of one year and four months.

Verma said that the government is coming up with model bylaws of PACS, through which PACS will provide all types of loans to farmers, besides short-term loans. The theme of this year’s Cooperative Week celebrations is ‘India@75; Growth of Cooperatives and Future Ahead’.

On this occasion Verma also inaugurated Cooperative Fair, wherein more than 70 stalls of various cooperative organizations have been put up. These include stalls of Amul, IFFCO, NAFED, TRIFED, Bhuttico Weavers Coop Society, etc. A statue of Late Choudhary Brahm Prakash, the first CM of Delhi, was unveiled on the occasion, who had made pioneering contributions to the cooperative movement.

Verma further said that the government wants to set up cooperatives in every village. He said that a common software is being developed for PACS, district cooperative banks, state cooperative banks, and NABARD through which the procurement operations of PACS will improve, and they will ensure more transparency in their functioning.

The government is working on a National Cooperative Policy, which will make cooperatives all-inclusive, said Verma, adding that the government is also setting up an export house for co-ops. He talked about Amul’s certification of organic produce through which farmers will not only get a fair price of their produce, but their produce will get an international platform.

He said that the government should not only train a few officials of the cooperative sector, but also train lower level officials for which the government is forming a cooperative university.

Shivadasan Nair, Vice President, NCUI, speaking on the occasion said that after the  formation of the Cooperative Ministry, the cooperative movement has gained a new momentum. A video message of Suresh Prabhu, Chairman, Committee on New Cooperative Policy, constituted by the government, was read on the occasion.

Dr Sudhir Mahajan, Chief Executive, NCUI, speaking on the occasion said that NCUI has come up with various initiatives in accordance with the government’s objective of Sahakar se Samriddhi. These initiatives are: NCUI Haat, a unique selling platform for the products of lesser known coops/SHGs, setting up of incubation centre to create employment opportunities for poor and the deprived sections of society with emphasis on technology, forging collaborations with reputed organizations like NIESBUD, Indraprastha University, German Development Corporation, Vyakti Vikas Foundation, etc.

On the occasion, the Minister released NCUI’s publications The Cooperator and Deepshikha, and NCHF Bulletin, published by National Cooperative Housing Federation of India.

Vishal Singh, Chairman, NCCF proposed a vote of thanks on the occasion.