The Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM), Pune, organised a four-day exposure visit programme for officials of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS), Cooperative Election Authority (CEA) and Cooperative Ombudsman from 27 to 30 October 2026, focusing on cooperative business models and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
The second edition of the programme was designed to provide participants with practical insights into cooperative governance, business operations and regulatory frameworks through classroom sessions and visits to successful cooperative institutions and a Farmer Producer Company.
The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Suva Kanta Mohanty, Director, VAMNICOM and CICTAB. Addressing the participants, Dr. Mohanty emphasised the importance of field-based learning, motivation and education in building strong cooperative institutions. He observed that studying successful cooperatives offers a deeper understanding of their functioning, achievements and contribution to the movement.
The academic session was conducted by Anil Kawade, IAS (Retd.), Commissioner, State Cooperative Election Authority, Maharashtra, who spoke on the cooperative movement in Maharashtra and the MSCS Act, 2002.
The four-day programme featured an extensive series of institutional visits covering cooperative credit, banking, agriculture, agro-processing, sugar and dairy sectors. Participants visited Tuljabhawani Multistate Co-operative Credit Society Ltd. and Annapurna in Pune on the first day.
The second day included visits to Pavitrak Farmer Producer Company, The Cosmos Co-operative Bank Ltd. and Venkateshwar Co-operative Power and Agro Processing Ltd. On the third day, the delegation visited the Maharashtra Urban Co-operative Banks Federation, Wadala, and Shivsahyadri Sahakari Patpedhi Ltd., Matunga West, Mumbai.
On the concluding day, participants visited Bhimashankar Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. and Amul Satellite Dairy, gaining further exposure to cooperative operations in the sugar and dairy sectors.
The visits provided first-hand insights into member participation, financial management, professional administration, governance practices and the implementation of cooperative business models across diverse sectors. The programme also enabled officials to relate the provisions of the cooperative legal framework to the practical functioning of institutions.
Dr. D. Ravi coordinated the study visits throughout the programme, while VAMNICOM faculty member Dr. Arvind Darshna also joined the team on 28 October.
The participating officials included Rakesh Kumar Jaiswal (ASO), Dr. Mili Saxena (SCO), Sachin Kumar (SCO), Pankaj Kumar Jha (US), Vinay Kumar Ginni (AD), Amit Sachdeva (STA) and Jagdessha M (SCO).
