New Cooperation Policy to be unveiled in July, promises to strengthen grassroot movement

The policy is intended to further strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy.

The New Cooperation Policy is expected to be unveiled in July, 2023 after consulting all the stakeholders including state governments, central ministries and departments, National Cooperatives and other relevant organizations. In this regard, a presentation to Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, was made by Suresh Prabhu-the chairman of the National Level Committee for drafting New National Cooperation Policy document.

Committee members also briefed Shah about objectives, vision and mission of the draft Policy along with key recommendations in various sectors and Shah also gave his guidance on how to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s vision of ‘Sehkaar se Samriddhi’ and to strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy.

The committee for drafting New National Cooperation Policy was formed on 2nd September 2022 with a view to prepare a new National Policy under Amit Shah. The other members of the committed are Dileep Sanghani, Chairman, NCUI, K V Shahji, Chairman, NABARD, Jyotindra Mehta, Chairman, NAFCUB, P K Aggarwal, Financial Advisor, D/o Cooperation, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Umakant Dash, Director, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Satish Marathe, Director, RBI, Dr C Pitchai, Professor, Gandhigram Rural University, Dr. Hema Yadav and Director, VAMNICOM. Secretary (Cooperation), Additional Secretary (Cooperation) and a few others.

The briefing by the committee members also included 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 and a few others.

The policy is intended to further strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroot level through the new policy. The committee will prepare a revised draft as per the guidance received from the concerned minister.

The drafting Committee is chaired by Suresh Prabhu, former Union Minister. It comprises of 49 members drawn from all over the country and various stakeholders such as officers of cooperation department of various state governments, ministries, departments of central governments, institutions like IRMA, RBI, National federations like IFFCO, NCCF, NAFCARD, NAFCUB, KRIBHCO, NFCSF, NCUI, NAFED, representatives from Cooperative Societies in various sectors, academicians and experts.

The process of forming a new National Cooperation Policy was initiated when the concept was discussed in the conference of State Cooperation Secretaries held in 2022. More than 500 suggestions were received from various stakeholders and the general public for the draft policy document.