The Rajasthan State Cooperative Union organized a symposium on 21st December in Jaipur to commemorate the 67th year of its establishment. The objective of the event was to discuss ways to strengthen the SCU, empower cooperatives in Rajasthan, achieve the vision ‘Sahakar se Samriddhi’ of the Government of India, and prepare an action plan for celebrating IYC 2025 in Rajasthan.
NCUI, with its mission to reduce regional imbalances and strengthen the State Cooperative Union and District Cooperative Unions, sent Executive Director Ritesh Dey to share a roadmap for the same. The state cooperative machinery and leaders, under the aegis of Rajasthan SCU, took the initiative to find ways to revamp the cooperatives in the state.
Readers may recall that earlier during an event organized by Rajasthan SCU in conjunction with the All India Cooperative Week on 19 November, NCUI President Dileep Sanghani, in the presence of the Cooperative Minister, RCS, and cooperative leaders and functionaries of Rajasthan, emphasized strengthening the SCU and District Cooperative Unions and boosting every sector of cooperatives in the state.
Addressing a gathering of 100 people comprising officials of the Cooperative Department and cooperative leaders from several districts, Dey proposed a focused approach and suggested forming a state-level committee with representation from the state department and cooperative leaders to prepare a time-bound execution plan to boost the cooperative movement in the state.
Aligning with the four main objectives of IYC 2025, he stressed the need for adequate manpower in the SCU and DCUs through structural changes and suggested that the state government allocate a budgetary provision for meeting the establishment costs of the SCU and DCUs.
He further suggested revitalizing the Cooperative Education Fund and making it mandatory for all profit-making cooperatives in the state to contribute so that the fund could be exclusively utilized through the SCU and DCUs to implement education, awareness, and training programs effectively. He also proposed establishing at least one Junior Cooperative Training Centre in each of the 10 subdivisions, mapping the 50 districts.
Highlighting one of the main objectives set by the United Nations for IYC 2025—enhancing visibility and amplifying public awareness about the contribution of cooperatives to social and economic development—the NCUI officer proposed exploring the possibility of establishing ‘Coop Haat’ stalls, modeled after the NCUI Haat, in all 30 Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation hotels, airports, railway stations, bus stands, and the office premises of government and cooperative federations, including a large ‘Coop Mart’ in Nehru Sahakar Bhawan.
To involve youth in the cooperative sector and sensitize them about the importance of the cooperative model of enterprise, he suggested organizing debate competitions for school and college students at the district level and finally at the state level. He assured all necessary support from NCUI for strengthening the cooperative movement in the state in general and the SCU in particular.
The event was graced by veteran cooperative leaders from the state, including Mange Lal Danga, former Board of Director of IFFCO; Ram Lal Bishnoi, Chairman of Jodhpur Dairy; Bhoma Ram, Additional Registrar cum Administrator; R. S. Chauhan, Additional Registrar cum CEO of Rajasthan SCU; Suraj Bhan Singh Amera, AGM of Apex Cooperative Bank; Brij Mohan Sharma, Chairman of DCU Bundi; Naval Kishore Sharma, senior cooperator; and many representatives from various cooperative sectors of Rajasthan.
