The idea mooted by IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi for making a ‘Cooperative Development Forum’ in the leadership of former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Suresh Prabhu is taking the final shape. This is likely to be officially announced during the International Day of Cooperatives scheduled for the first Saturday of July i.e. 4th July 2020.
There have been speculations that the forum is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually and an invitation for this has been sent to him.
This forum will be chaired by Suresh Prabhu. IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi, NCUI Chairman Dr Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, Nafscob Chairman Dileep Sanghani, National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Limited Chairman Mangal Jit Rai, RBI Central Board Director Satish Marathe and Nafcub Chairman Jyotindra Mehta will be its members and Sahakar Bharati National General Secretary Uday Joshi will be its member secretary.
Sharing the objective of making this forum Uday Joshi said, ”We have seen that the overall approach of the central government towards the cooperative movement is not very encouraging.
“We want the government to identify the role of cooperatives in the national economy and nobody could be a better person than Suresh Prabhu to fit the bill. Himself a veteran co-operator, Prabhu had been the Chairman of Saraswat Cooperative Bank in the past; he understands both the cooperative spirit and its structure very well”, he added.
“The forum will be announced on the International Day of Cooperative. We have had several meetings in this regard, ” Joshi informed.
It is being said that the forum will also help in fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a USD 5 trillion dollar economy and make India a self-reliant country.
Readers would recall that the idea was mooted by IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi during the Sahakar Bharati webinar organized last month in which Suresh Prabhu had delivered the keynote address.
“The role of cooperatives is barely recognized so there is a need to raise the voice of the cooperative sector before the government”, said Awasthi while mooting the idea of making a Cooperative Development forum.
Chandra Pal Singh Yadav, the incumbent President of national apex co-op body NCUI is also supportive of the idea. Ensuring his participation in the said Forum, Chandra Pal said “I am ready to play my role if such a Forum takes final shape”.