The valedictory function of Sahakar Bharati’s national level conference on credit cooperatives at the ICAR, New Delhi was held on Sunday, in which Union Minister of State for finance Bhagwat Karad was the chief guest.
The conference concluded on a positive note because Karad made promises to co-operators that the issues related to credit co-ops would be taken into consideration by the concerned authorities. He stressed on having a body for protecting the money of depositors associated with credit co-ops on the lines of DICGC.
It was attended by the Sahakar Bharati Chairman DN Thakur, National General Secretary Uday Joshi, Nafcub President Jyotindra Mehta, Buldana Urban Founder Chairman Radheshyam Chandak, BJP Leader Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, Shyam Jaju and others. Several stalwarts of credit cooperatives were present.
In his speech, Karad lauded the efforts of credit cooperatives in catering to the financial needs of poor people and running the business efficiently. But at the same time, he urged the cooperators to follow the rules and be disciplined in running the business.
The poor and the downtrodden people of society are parking their money in the credit cooperative societies and to protect their deposits, there is a need for insurance cover as in the case of banks there is DICGC which protects the deposits up to Rs 5 lakh. I will take the matter up with the central government and the concerned authorities”, Karad assured amidst thunderous applause from the audience.
He further added, the other issues related to credit co-ops would also be raised with the concerned ministries and make efforts in resolving them at the earliest. The Central Government has allotted funds for computerization of PACS and engage them in multi-purpose activities. The efforts will also be made in engaging credit co-ops in taking the government schemes at the grassroots level.
Addressing the participants, Sahakar Bharati National General Secretary Uday Joshi placed the charter of
demands before the MoS and sought his help in resolving them.
Joshi not only raised the issue of membership of National Payment Gateway to credit co-ops but also sought relief U/S 80P (2); 268 SS & ST without any discrimination. He also demanded allowing credit co-ops in investing in government securities and giving a platform to them for enhancing their business.
During the two-day national conference, several discussions and various technical sessions were organized for the representatives of credit co-ops. More than 5000 delegates attended the event representing 1200 credit co-ops from different states. The majority of participants were from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.
