In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah lauded the role being played by NCDC and said since its inception and till the end of the last fiscal, NCDC has disbursed Rs.1.77 lakh crore to cooperatives for their development. It includes assistance to agricultural and horticulture cooperative societies, Shah added.
“NCDC plans and promotes programs on co-operative principles. It assists cooperatives only. The NCDC financial assistance schemes encourage and attract people to form new cooperatives for carrying out business activities”he explained.
NCDC has extended cumulative financial assistance to cooperatives to the tune of Rs.1.86 lakh crore as on 30.06.2021. Out of this, Rs.1.31 lakh crore has been disbursed in the last seven years (since 2014-15) signifying 286% increase compared to the period, 1963-2014, said Shah underlining the Modi govt push for co-op development.
“Finance schemes of NCDC cover activities such as agro-processing, horti-processing, credit, inputs, computerization, storage, cold chain, textile, handloom, sugar, ethanol, dairy, fisheries, livestock, piggery, poultry, renewable energy, rural housing, scheduled caste & scheduled tribes, women cooperatives, animal care/health, hospitality & transport, electricity & power, hospitals, healthcare and education etc.”, stated the Minister.
Under its Sahakar-22 initiatives, NCDC has in the last two years, reached out to over 10000 primary level cooperative societies to encourage youth towards cooperatives, NCDC has launched its Yuva Sahakar Cooperative Enterprise Support and Innovation Scheme which aims at enabling Start-Ups in the cooperative sector different types of business activities.
Shah also talked of the Sahakar Mitra scheme, in which NCDC offers internship opportunities to students to get experience in areas of functioning of NCDC and related aspects of cooperatives.
The Minister’s reply also mentioned the Ayushman Sahakar scheme in which NCDC offers finance to cooperatives to set up healthcare infrastructure and provide services. NCDC is one of the implementing agencies promoting FPOs, he added.
“The Formation and Promotion of Fish Farmers Producer Organizations (FFPO) under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) provides for registration and support of new cooperatives as FFPOs, NCDC being an implementing agency for promoting such FFPOs”, said Shah in his reply.
