Former Union Minister and Chairman of the National Level Committee for drafting new National Cooperation Policy document Suresh Prabhu, made a presentation to Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday.
The meeting was also attended by members including Dileep Sanghani, NCUI Chairman. K V Shahji, Chairman, NABARD, Jyotindra Mehta, NAFCUB Chairman, P K Aggarwal, Financial Advisor UP govt, , Dr Umakant Dash, Director, IRMA, Satish Marathe, Director, RBI, Dr C Pitchai, Professor, Gandhigram Rural University, Dr. Hema Yadav and Director, VAMNICOM.
Secretary (Cooperation), Additional Secretary (Cooperation) and senior officers of Ministry of Cooperation were also participated in the meeting.
The Committee members briefed Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah about the objectives, vision and mission of the draft Policy along with key recommendations in various sectors including structural reforms & governance, cooperatives as vibrant economic entities, level playing field for cooperatives, sources of capital and funds, inclusion of priority sections, use of technology, upskilling and training, sustainability and implementation plan.
During the meeting, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shah gave his guidance on how to realise Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s vision of ‘Sehkaar se Samriddhi’ and to strengthen the Cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy.
Talking to the Indian Cooperative soon after the meeting NCUI Chairman Dileep Sanghani said that the Minister insisted on the fact that co-operative is a state subject and the entire exercise should be done in the spirit of “Cooperation among cooperatives”.
“Shah was very particular that no state should feel that its domain is being encroached through this new National Co-op Policy. The policy should be generalistic where each state can build on the basis of its specific need”, said Sanghani quoting Amit Shah.
“The Minister also wanted co-op presence in each sector of the economy, given its huge potential, said the NCUI President. Plus, he wanted active participation of women and youth in the cooperatives”, added Sanghani. Employment generation would be the focus of new co-op policy, he stated.
As per the guidance received from Minister of Cooperation, the Committee will prepare a revised draft. The new Cooperation Policy is expected to be unveiled in July, 2023 after consulting all the stakeholders including state governments, central ministries / departments, National Cooperatives, etc.
