Rajasthan Strengthens Cooperative Network Through ‘Sahkar Membership Drive’

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Rajasthan is emerging as one of the leading states in the country in realizing the vision of “Prosperity through Cooperation.” Continuous efforts are being made to strengthen the cooperative network at the grassroots level so that maximum people can benefit. In this direction, the ‘Sahkar Membership Drive’ held in October has proven to be a crucial step towards taking the cooperative movement to new heights.

The membership drive was initially scheduled from 2 to 15 October, but due to encouraging results, it was later extended to 22 October. Around 8,500 PACS-level camps were successfully organized. Five major activities were conducted during the campaign and yielded promising results. The key objective was to connect more youth and women with cooperatives. Through excellent efforts, over 8.90 lakh new members were enrolled during the campaign—21.25% more than the target of 7.34 lakh.

Across divisions, Jaipur had a target of 1.25 lakh new members but achieved 2.03 lakh; Udaipur achieved 1.30 lakh against a target of 1.01 lakh; Ajmer reached 1.22 lakh against 1.15 lakh; Bikaner recorded 1.19 lakh against 99,000; Kota achieved around 68,000 against 53,000; and Bharatpur enrolled around 95,000 against 74,000. Jodhpur enrolled 1.53 lakh new members.

During the campaign, surveys for forming new PACS in gram panchayats without PACS were completed in 1,706 gram panchayats. District-level committee meetings were held for 1,296 PACS proposals, and 1,275 proposals were received by the department for formation. Meanwhile, 1,342 cooperative societies identified land for warehouse construction, and 1,215 societies applied for land allocation.

As part of the campaign, Aadhaar seeding of 38,850 farmers and e-KYC of 27,640 farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme were also completed. Additionally, more than 11 lakh people were informed about the key provisions of the proposed new Cooperative Law.

The large-scale participation of youth and women has further strengthened the cooperative network at the grassroots level, ensuring smoother delivery of welfare schemes. Formation of new PACS in villages without them will expand the cooperative structure and directly benefit farmers and rural communities. With land allocation to landless societies, construction of warehouses will accelerate, significantly increasing the state’s storage capacity. Completion of Aadhaar seeding and e-KYC will ensure seamless benefits under the PM-Kisan scheme. The awareness of the new Cooperative Code will prove beneficial for the public. Work initiated during the campaign is continuing through consistent follow-up.