Reviving cooperatives must address foundational issues, regulatory overlap

India’s cooperative movement, once rooted in the agricultural sector, has expanded in several areas. From enabling access to credit and inputs to farmers, cooperatives today are expanding into diverse sectors. With 844,000 registered cooperatives across 30 sectors, the member-owned enterprises have worked towards empowering local communities and driving grassroots development. To further enhance their utility, the government recently unveiled the National Cooperative Policy 2025, with a 20-year vision. An attempt to revitalise India’s cooperatives was overdue after the first such policy was rolled out in 2002.

 

The policy aims to expand the number of cooperatives by 30 per cent, ensuring