National Cooperative Policy catering to state needs on cards: Shah

Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced on Monday that the Centre aims to establish cooperatives in every village within the next five years, utilising a national cooperative database to achieve this objective. He stated that the National Cooperative Policy will be announced soon, with each state's policy tailored to local needs.

Addressing a meeting of the cooperation ministers of states to mark the celebration of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives, Shah said the Centre has ensured changes in laws, expansion of activities and transparency in recruitments in the cooperative sector.

Speaking at a meeting with state cooperation ministers to celebrate 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives, Shah highlighted the Centre's efforts to reform laws, expand activities, and enhance transparency in the cooperative sector.

He directed that at least one cooperative training institute from each state should be affiliated with the Tribhuvan Sahkari University and the entire cooperative training system of the state should be managed through it.

Shah explained that the national cooperative database has been created to identify gaps in cooperative institutions across the country. It will allow cooperative entities at national, state, district, and tehsil levels to see which villages lack cooperative institutions.

The minister emphasised that the goal is to ensure that no village in India is without a cooperative within the next five years, leveraging the cooperative database to meet this target.

The minister further informed that soon the National Cooperative Policy will also be announced, which will be effective from 2025 to 2045, i.e., approximately until the centenary of India’s Independence.

He said under the National Cooperative Policy, each state’s cooperative policy will be formulated according to the cooperative conditions of that state and specific goals will be set.

Shah said every state should announce its cooperative policy before January 31, 2026.

He added that bringing discipline, innovation, and transparency to the cooperative sector across the country will be achieved through the Model National Cooperative Policy Act. He added that regarding establishing 2 lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), the target for the financial year 2025-26 should be completed by February next year itself, only then can the ambitious goal will be fulfilled on time.