New national coop policy's revised draft to be prepared with Shah's inputs

A 49-member committee headed by former minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday submitted the draft new national cooperation policy, along with key recommendations, to Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, who has shared further inputs based on which a revised draft will be prepared.

The current policy on cooperation was formulated in 2002 and a need was felt to draft a new national policy to deal with the changed economic scenario. Therefore, a committee was formed on September 2, 2022, to draft a new policy to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sehkaar se Samriddhi'.

"As per the guidance received from the Minister of Cooperation, the Committee will prepare a revised draft," the Cooperation Ministry said in a statement.

The new Cooperation Policy is expected to be unveiled in July, after consulting all the stakeholders, including state governments, central ministries, departments, national cooperatives, etc, it said.

The committee members briefed the Minister about the objectives, vision and mission of the draft policy, along with key recommendations in various sectors, including structural reforms and governance, cooperatives as vibrant economic entities, level playing field for cooperatives, sources of capital and funds, the inclusion of priority sections, use of technology, upskilling and training, sustainability and implementation plan, it added.

Besides, Prabhu, National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) Chairman Dileep Sanghani, NABARD Chairman K V Shah, NAFCUB Chairman Jyotindra Mehta, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) Director Umakant Dash, RBI Director Satish Marathe and VAMNICOM Director Hema Yadav were present in the meeting.

Uttar Pradesh government's cooperation department financial advisor P K Aggarwal, Gandhigram Rural University Professor C Pitchai and senior officials from the cooperation ministry were also present in the meeting.

More than 500 suggestions were received from various stakeholders and the general public for the draft policy document. The committee after its formation held more than eight meetings and also consulted various stakeholders to prepare the draft document, the statement added.