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Multi-State Cooperative Societies
The government on Tuesday decided to set up three new multi-state cooperative societies for the dairy sector to focus on animal feed, dung management and circular use of dead cattle residues. Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, who chaired a meeting on sustainability and circularity in the cooperative dairy sector, said the goal should be to create a sustainable dairy ecosystem that promotes a circular economy. "As we move towards White Revolution 2.0, our goal should not only be to expand dairy cooperatives and make them efficient and effective but also to create an ecosystem of dairy which is sustainable," Shah said. According to an official statement, the first society will work on animal feed production, disease control and artificial insemination, the second will develop models of dung management, and the third will promote circular use of dead cattle residues. Shah emphasised that carbon credit benefits should directly reach farmers through scientific models. He highlighted the n
A total of 12,957 new multi-purpose primary agricultural credit societies, dairy and fishery cooperative societies have been established across the country in past two years, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday in Parliament. Shah, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the government had in February 2023 approved the plan for strengthening cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots. The plan entails establishment of new multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (M-PACS), Dairy, Fishery Cooperative Societies covering all the panchayats/villages in the country over a period of five years. As per National Cooperative Database, a total of 12,957 new PACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies have been registered across the country as on Janury 27, 2025, Shah added. Out of which, 1,995 new cooperatives have been registered in Rajasthan, 1,535 in Odisha, 1,464 in Uttar Pradesh and 1,118 in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. Th
The Modi government is fully committed to preventing frauds in cooperative societies and no culprit will be spared irrespective of their political affiliation, Minister of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal asserted in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Responding to supplementary queries during the Question Hour in the Upper House on the delinquencies in the multi-state cooperative societies, the minister said ever since this government came to power, several steps have been taken to stop fraud. Those who commit fraud, whether he is from this side or that side (pointing first towards the government and then the opposition), whether big or small, he will not be spared at any cost, the minister said. He said action is already on in this regard. After this government came to power and this ministry was formed, several stringent steps have been taken. If you say, I will discuss all that (with you), the minister added. He was responding after Congress MP from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil asked h
The government is planning to launch a nationwide programme to rope in dairy and fishery cooperative societies as banking correspondents to expand financial services in rural areas, a top official said on Wednesday. Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani said the programme would leverage the existing network of dairy and fishery cooperatives to act as "bank mitras" or banking agents by offering services such as micro-ATMs and lower-interest farm loans. "The pilot has been rolled out at the state level in Gujarat. We intend to nationally roll out shortly," Bhutani said while addressing a cooperative summit organised by PHDCCI here. The plan follows a pilot project launched in two districts of Gujarat where members of dairy and fishery cooperatives were able to access banking services closer home, including doorstep delivery of microloans and facilitating other transactions. Under the nationwide programme, these cooperative societies will be engaged as banking ...
Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched the National Cooperative Database which will help in the expansion and development of cooperatives in the country. There are more than 8 lakh registered societies in the country, with over 30 crore people connected with them. National Cooperative Database is a web-based digital dashboard wherein data of cooperative societies, including national/state federations, have been captured. It has collected or mapped information about 8 lakh cooperatives. Addressing the gathering at the launch function, Shah said that the Ministry of Cooperation is actively working to connect millions of people with the country's economy and development. He emphasised that the cooperative database will play a crucial role in the expansion of cooperatives, digital development, and delivery through databases.. He explained that data works to guide development in the right direction and will be highly effective in analysing gaps.. "We are experiencing a new
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday said the cooperative sector is the best way to strengthen the rural economy and asserted it would play an important role in making India the world's third largest economy. He was speaking at an event in Deodar village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of various projects of Banas Dairy and Banas Bank. "Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world and is marching forward to be the third largest economy. I firmly believe the cooperative sector will play an important role in it," Patel said in his address. "Recently, the state government organised the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. Our focus was on emerging and future technologies such as green energy, hydrogen energy and semiconductor. At the same time, we are also focussing on the rural economy. The cooperative sector is the best way to strengthen the rural
Nabard Chairman Shaji K V on Wednesday said the government aims to computerise about 65,000 cooperative societies by March 2024 in order to improve transparency and efficiency of such cooperatives. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has been designated as project manager for computerisation of cooperative societies under the guidance and directions of the National Level Monitoring and Implementation Committee and Ministry of Cooperation. "Close to 10,000 cooperative societies have already been digitised. We are targeting 65,000 societies to be digitised by March 2024," he said at a conference organised by Sa Dhan. Observing that cooperatives have created lot of inefficiencies over the years, he said, "we are trying to clean up by improving transparency and making them important value chain players through computerisation of these entities." Nabard is also building a data warehouse for cooperatives and the rural sector, he said, adding, it should be in
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2023 which seeks to strengthen cooperatives by making their functioning more transparent, introducing a system of regular elections and prohibiting appointment of related persons. Minister of State Cooperation B L Verma moved the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha. The bill, which had been approved by Lok Sabha on July 25, 2023, was passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote. While replying to queries on the bill, Verma said that the bill provides for norms for appointment of employees, which ensures that there is no nepotism practices. He said that India's target of becoming a 5-trillion dollar economy cannot be achieved without the progressive role of cooperative sector. Noting that there is a limit for the private sector when it comes to employment generation, he said that the cooperative sector can spur jobs as the government is ...
Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said a bill that seeks to amend the law on Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) to bring ease of doing business will come in the Monsoon session of Parliament, starting July 20. Speaking at the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives, Shah said 26 states and Union territories have adopted the draft model by-laws for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), which means there will be uniform by-laws in a major part of the country from September. He also said the government wants to frame a new cooperative law that will help in expanding the sector in the next 25 years. It is also planning to set up a cooperative university for which inter-ministerial discussions have been initiated. After the formation of a separate cooperation ministry on July 6, 2021, the minister said, many changes have become possible in the field of cooperatives, and changes will continue to happen in the ...
The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society case and ordered a stay on his arrest. The minister had filed a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking relief in the matter although he is not mentioned as an accused in the FIR registered in connection with the alleged scam of more than Rs 900 crore. The Rajasthan Special Operations Group is investigating the case. A bench of Justice Kuldeep Mathur heard the petition and granted the stay on arrest. The court then listed the matter for further hearing after three weeks. Shekhawat had moved a petition on March 24 for quashing the FIR in the case and transferring the probe to the CBI. His counsel Dhirendra Singh Daspan said they sought the transfer of the investigation to the CBI on the grounds that the state has no jurisdiction in the matter. The Union minister's move came following Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's continuous atta
As the Amul vs Nandini battle heats up in poll-bound Karnataka, at the heart of a seemingly corporate war is the Kannadiga pride and the rural economy dependent on the home-grown brand and the ruling BJP may have to do a tightrope walking to steer clear of the issue that may well dominate the political narrative in the coming days, much as it has hogged the limelight over the weekend. What is the Amul Vs Nandini battle. Why does the opposition see red over the Gujarat dairy brand's Bengaluru foray with its brand of milk and curd. An explainer from PTI seeks to shed light on the issue. Gujarat-based dairy cooperative Amul's announcement on April 5 to enter enter the Karnataka market to supply its milk and curd has given the opposition yet another ammunition to fire at the ruling BJP, much as it came months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement that the two brands' cooperation could "do wonders" for the dairy sector. Shah also holds the Cooperation portfolio. The oppositi
Rajya Sabha on Wednesday nominated 10 members to the joint committee of Parliament to examine the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Lok Sabha Tuesday referred the Bill to the committee. Cooperation Minister Amit Shah had said 21 members of the joint panel will be from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. While moving the motion in the Upper House, Minister of State for Cooperation B L Verma named the 10 members of the Rajya Sabha who will be in the joint panel. These members are Ghanshyam Tiwari, Surendra Singh Nagar, Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik and Ram Chander Jangra of the BJP, Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of the Trinamool Congress, N R Elango of the DMK, Vikramjit Singh Sahney of the AAP, Sujeet Kumar of the BJD and S Niranjan Reddy of the YSRCP. The Upper House adopted a motion for nomination to the joint committee of Parliament on this Bill through a voice vote. The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bi
A discussion on a bill which seeks to amend the law on multi-state cooperative societies is likely to be a stormy affair in Lok Sabha when the proposed measure comes up for passage this week. With parliamentary sources indicating that the Winter session could conclude on December 23, earlier than scheduled, opposition parties could make a fresh pitch for a discussion on Tawang issue. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses of Parliament. Indian and Chinese troops had clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides. The session is officially slated to conclude on December 29. The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to bring transparency and accountability in the sector, was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 7 amidst demands from Opposition MPs that it be referred to a standing committee f