“Amit Shah to Address National Conference on Ministry of Cooperation’s 100-Day Initiatives”

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will inaugurate a series of transformational initiatives taken in 100 Days of the Ministry of Cooperation at a national level conference being organized in ICAR Convention Centre, in Pusa, New Delhi on 19 September 2024. During the main session of the Conference, Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will launch “100 days initiatives” by the Ministry under the theme of “Sahkar-se-Samriddhi”. He will also launch a ‘Margdarshika’ on formation and strengthening of 2 lakh new MPACS, Primary Dairy and Fishery Cooperative Societies in uncovered villages/Panchayats, Standard Operating Procedure on White Revolution 2.0 and Cooperation among Cooperatives. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, & Dairying and Panchayati Raj, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, along with other dignitaries, will be present.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the able guidance of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, the government is taking many initiatives for the strengthening of cooperatives at all levels, specifically at the grassroot level. Inspired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi”, the cooperative movement in the country is steadily moving towards sustainability and will play a critical role as the backbone of our rural economy. Taking forward the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IFFCO under guidance of Ministry of Cooperation is also hosting ICA Global Cooperative Conference 2024 in Delhi later this year. The conference will outline the future course of action by the Ministry of Cooperation on the world’s largest rural economies built around cooperatives.

Today 290 million people are directly engaged with the cooperative sector, benefiting from its community-based financial security and livelihood opportunities. The conference will feature three technical sessions on establishment of 2,00,000 Multipurpose Primary Agriculture Credit  Societies (MPACS), on “Cooperation among Cooperatives,” and on “White Revolution 2.0.”

Margdarshika (Action Plan) on formation and strengthening of new Multipurpose PACS, Dairy and Fisheries Cooperative Societies in each Panchayat:

There are about 2.7 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country, but many panchayats are yet to be covered by PACS, Dairy, Fisheries Cooperatives. In view of the important role played by these primary level cooperatives in the overall and balanced development of the country, the Government of India has approved the Plan for formation of new Multipurpose PACS, Dairy and Fisheries Cooperative Societies in uncovered Gram Panchayats in the country. In order to ensure its effective implementation in time-bound manner, a ‘Margdarshika’ has been prepared by the Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with NABARD, NDDB and NFDB. With the formation and strengthening of new multipurpose cooperative societies, crores of small and marginal farmers associated with them will get forward and backward linkages. Further, it will also have a multiplier effect on the entire rural economy of the country.

The “White Revolution 2.0” initiative among others, seeks to empower women, generate employment, and expand cooperative coverage. It is projected that dairy cooperatives will procure 1,000 lakh kilograms of milk daily by the end of the fifth year, significantly enhancing the livelihoods of rural producers. The initiative will leverage benefit of existing programs, including the Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD), as well as proposed schemes NPDD 2.0 of Department of Animal Husbandry& Dairying to achieve its objective.

The Ministry of Cooperation over the next five years targets establishment of 70,000 new multipurpose PACS – 22,752 by 2026 and 47,248 by 2029, 56,500 new multipurpose dairy cooperative societies (MDCS) and 6,000 new fisheries cooperatives. Besides, 46,500 existing dairy cooperatives and around 5,500 existing fishery cooperatives shall be strenghthened through existing GOI schemes including Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) etc. Additionally, state governments will contribute by forming 25,000 new PACS, dairy, and fishery cooperatives. The availability of easy credit and other services will be ensured at the Panchayat or village level.

The summit will be beneficial for farmers as it will look for avenues to stabilize their livelihoods and provide them with additional income sources for their development apart from the focus on rural development and enhancing agriculture productivity and increasing milk production. This one-day summit will serve as a platform for advancing these goals, fostering collaborative solutions, and promoting sustainable development across the country.

The event will be attended by over 2000 guests including Chairmen/MDs of National Cooperative Federations, senior officers of Ministries, Additional Chief Secretaries, Cooperation, Food & Civil Supplies Department of all States/UTs, Registrars of Cooperative Societies of all States/UTs, officials of other related organizations viz. NABARD, FCI, NDDB, and NFDB.