Govt working towards bill to help co-operative movement: agri minister

Addressing to the fifth national conference on 'Co-operative Reforms' Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan on Monday said that the central government was working towards a 'Sahakari Samiti Bill' to help the co-operative movement in the country.

"The government is working towards a 'Sahakari Samiti Bill', which is currently in its draft form, to help the co-operative movement in India to be more self-reliant, as the government feels that more training and development to be inculcated if the co-operative movement has to gain more popularity amongst people across sectors," Mohan said during the national conference that was organised by Sahakar Bharati.

During the three-day convention, discussions were held on the Central Government's attempt to privatise co-operative movements and also to undertake the task of taking public opinion throughout the country. Nearly 2,000 co-operatives workers had participated in the event.

"Despite some failures, there is a need for more co-operative societies which if given the right force, can protect the future of India," Mohan added.

Meanwhile, the agriculture minister also said that women and youth should be brought into the fold of co-operative society's work, which will help India develop at an even more rapid pace. "Involvement of women and youth can bring more force in development of co-operative sector which help the sector to grow rapidly," he said.

Meanwhile, Jyotindra Mehta, National Vice President, Sahakar Bharati said, "We want to involve the youth and women of the country in the movement, though we know that the task is going to be challenging."