The National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) participated in a stakeholder consultation with national-level cooperative federations to deliberate on the way forward for strengthening the cooperative sector in line with the National Cooperative Policy, 2025.
The meeting was chaired by Siddharth Jain, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, who led discussions on the priorities and objectives outlined under the new policy. Representatives of national cooperative federations were briefed on the policy framework and invited to share their suggestions, drawing on their institutional experience and grassroots engagement with the cooperative movement.
NCUI was represented at the consultation by Pankaj Srivastava, IRS, Chief Executive, Rajeev Sharma, Executive Director, and Anurag, Deputy Director.
The Ministry stressed the importance of translating the broad objectives of the National Cooperative Policy into concrete and actionable initiatives. National federations were encouraged to deliberate internally within their respective organisations and develop practical proposals that could contribute to the sector’s growth and align with the policy’s larger vision.
The consultation assumes significance as national cooperative federations are expected to play a key role in translating policy priorities into initiatives at the grassroots level. Their extensive networks and engagement with member cooperatives provide an institutional base for identifying sectoral challenges and developing measures that can have wider impact.
For NCUI, the discussion also provides an opportunity to strengthen coordination among national federations and build a more collective approach towards implementation of the policy. As the apex organisation representing the Indian cooperative movement, NCUI said it remains committed to facilitating closer collaboration among its member national federations and with the Ministry of Cooperation.
The Union said such collaboration would focus on developing outcome-oriented initiatives in accordance with the National Cooperative Policy, 2025 and the government’s broader vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi.”
The policy consultation comes at a time when the cooperative sector is being positioned as an important instrument for inclusive economic development, with greater emphasis on strengthening cooperative institutions, improving their efficiency and expanding their role across different sectors of the economy.
The meeting therefore sought to move beyond broad policy discussions towards specific initiatives that can be taken up by national federations and implemented through their respective networks.
NCUI indicated that it would work with the Ministry and other national federations to facilitate this process and help convert the policy’s objectives into collective and measurable outcomes for the cooperative movement.
