13-Apr-2022: Two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy concludes
Government of India, under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had carved out a new Ministry of Cooperation on 06th July 2021 with the objective to provide renewed impetus to the growth of Cooperative Sector and realization of vision from Cooperation to Prosperity. Under the dynamic leadership of Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah, Ministry is working incessantly for development of cooperative sector for formulation of new Schemes and the new Cooperation Policy.
In this background, a two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy was organized at New Delhi on 12-13 April, 2022. The conference was inaugurated by Home & Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah. Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri B. L. Varma also graced the occasion with his presence.
More than two dozen Central Ministries represented by Secretaries and Joint Secretaries, 36 State Governments and Union Territories represented by their Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Registrar Cooperatives and heads of around 40 Cooperatives and other major National Institutions and organizations participated on this conference and shared their valuable views on this event.
Further, this conference was structured into six important themes covering not only whole life cycle of cooperatives but also touching upon all the facets of their business and governance. The panel discussions have been held on following themes:
- Present legal framework, identification of Regulatory policy, Operational barriers and measures required for their removal leading to Ease of Doing Business and providing a level playing field to cooperatives and other economic entities. This session had been chaired by Dr. G.R. Chintala, Chairman, NABARD and Shri TVSN Prasad, Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Haryana along with Sh. BL Meena, Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. Of Uttar Pradesh have cochaired.
- Reforms for strengthening governance including cooperative principles, democratic member control, increasing member participation, transparency, regular elections, HR Policy, leveraging International & National best practices, account keeping & auditing. This session had been chaired by Sh. Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Dept of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI, and Sh. Maninder Singh, Addl. Chief Secretary (Coop), Govt. of Assam along with Sh. Anoop Kumar, Addl. Chief Secretary (Coop), Govt. of Maharashtra had co-chaired the session.
- Multi Cooperative Vibrant economic entities by strengthening infrastructure, strengthening equity base, access to capital, diversification of activities, promoting entrepreneurship, promoting branding, marketing, business plan development, innovation, technology adoption and exports. This session had been chaired by Shri Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textile, GoI and Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Rural Development, GoI along with Shri Shailesh Kumar Singh, Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, GoI have cochaired.
- Training, Education, knowledge sharing and Awareness Building including mainstreaming cooperatives, linking training with entrepreneurship, inclusion of Women, Youth & Weaker Sections. This session had been chaired by Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General, ICAR along with Shri P. Vaiphei, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur and Dr. Umakant Dash, Director, IRMA, Gujarat had co-chaired the session.
- Promoting new cooperatives, revitalising defunct ones, promoting cooperation among cooperatives, increasing membership, formalising collectives, developing cooperatives for sustainable growth, mitigating regional imbalances & exploring new sectors. This session had been chaired by Shri K.V. Shaji Deputy MD NABARD.
- Promoting social cooperative and role of cooperatives in social security. This session had been chaired by Dr. Ashok Dalwai, CEO, NRAA, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India.
Minister of State for Cooperation and DONER, Shri B. L. Verma had concluded the conference by giving thanks to all the stakeholders who have attended this two days National Conference on Cooperation Policy and stated that these efforts will culminate in formulation of a new robust National Cooperation Policy giving impetus to strengthen cooperative based economic model in the country to realize the mantra of Sahakar Se Samriddhi.
12-Apr-2022: Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah addressed National Conference on Cooperative Policy in New Delhi
Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah addressed the National Conference on Cooperative Policy in New Delhi today. Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri B.L. Verma and Secretary Ministry of Cooperation, Shri Devendra Kumar Singh were amongst several other dignitaries present at the event.
On this occasion, Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that this two day seminar has been organized to discuss the new cooperative policy. July 6, 2021 is important day for cooperative sector as long pending demand of the sector was recognized through the creation of Ministry of Cooperation under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Shri Modi has set the goal of 'Sahakar Se Samriddhi' for the cooperative sector. He said that the concept of cooperatives is centuries old in India. In India, work on the principles of cooperation has been taking place in every sector. As per the law, cooperatives have been in India for the past 100 to 125 years. Cooperatives played a very big role In creating an economic model for rural development and providing employment to the poor people, so that they can live a dignified life.
Shri Amit Shah said that immediately after independence, especially with the efforts of Sardar Patel, the cooperative movement received a big boost. But in the course of time, it was observed that since about the 1960 and 1970s, there has been a stagnation in the cooperative movement and also a decline. This decline was seen in many states. Every village in developed states must have PACS, milk cooperative markets, credit societies or cooperative banks, and there should be no area where cooperatives cannot reach. Aspire to take developed states towards saturation, develop the developing states and to create a strategy to take backward states directly into the category of developed states.
The Union Minister for Cooperation said equitable distribution of profits can be done only by cooperatives, profits go to stakeholders and expenditure on management is minimal, this can happen only through cooperatives. A very large part of the country that is economically backward, cooperative is the only model that can make 80 crore people financially prosperous. The sector has seen experiments and their good results, be it Lijjat, Amul or the milk cooperatives of Karnataka.
Shri Amit Shah said we have to prepare the cooperative movement for the challenges of the present, remove stagnation, bring changes and transparency, only then small farmers will have increased trust in cooperatives. Democratic values as per the law have to be accepted in elections in cooperatives, it is only then that possibilities will have an environment to grow, no region can progress without possibilities. We have to accept professionalism and embrace corporate governance principles with a cooperative spirit. There are many models like IFFCO, Amul which have also kept the spirit of cooperative intact while following the footsteps of corporate governance.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said There are about 8.55 lakh cooperatives today, 1.77 lakh are credit societies, another 7 lakh are cooperative societies, 17 national level cooperative unions, 33 state cooperative banks, there are more than 63,000 active PACS and more than 12 crore members and around 91 percent villages have presence of cooperatives. This shows that we have a strong foundation on which we can build a structure.
Shri Amit Shah said that we have a strong base and impediments have to be removed by developing new provisions, new policy and harmonization and this can happen only if a co-operative policy is developed to meet today’s needs in a holistic manner. A complete updated cooperative policy that will address the needs of the sector from PACS to APACS will be placed before the nation in 8-9 months and will help to create an environment in which cooperatives can expand. In this, new dimensions and areas can be connected only with the spirit of TEAM, which means: T for Transparency, E for Empowerment, A for Aatmanirbhar and M for Modernization. Computerization of the cooperative sector along with modernization and professionalism will also have to be brought into the working of large cooperative societies.
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister said the Cooperation Ministry does not wish to decide the objectives of the new cooperative policy, and wants to leave it open. In a couple of days, the ministry will invite suggestions on the cooperative policy on the website of the Cooperation Ministry, responses to which can be sent in all languages. He said those running rural cooperative societies and small cooperative banks face problems. Perhaps their suggestions may not be useful in preparing the cooperative policy, but obstacles faced by cooperatives have to be removed. If these two issues are addressed in the same exercise, then it should be done.
Shri Amit Shah said that in the new Cooperation Policy - free registration, transparency, coordination in cooperatives, effort to bring equality through dialogue between the laws of the states, exploring new dimensions, reaching every village, creating credit societies, doubling farmers’ incomes and provisions of making cooperative institutions financially strong will be incorporated in new Cooperation Policy. He said he was placing these points at today’s conference. A perfect and suitable cooperative policy has to be developed, only then can we make the more than the expected contribution to the national economy, to realise the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of achieving a US $ 5 trillion economy and doubling farmers' income, Shri Shah said.
The Union Cooperation Minister said that the leaders of our cooperative movement will have to go to every district with this spirit. New hope has to be instilled in them, their activities have to be re-energised. Shri Shah assured the conference that as a cooperative sector worker, he is also ready to work shoulder to shoulder with others in the sector. He said a base has been formed and now greater momentum in the activities of this ministry will be witnessed. This spirit has to be conveyed to the PACS and their members.
The Union Minister for Cooperation said that today six topics have been taken up during the discussions and all of them are included in the nine points mentioned in the beginning. The end result which will emerge after the brainstorming at this two-day discussion, in the making of a new policy. Suggestions are being invited from persons associated with cooperatives in all local languages from across the country. Shri Amit Shah urged the delegates at the conference to take this initiative to all cooperative societies in their States so that even those running small village societies can also give suggestions. The Minister said he strongly felt that having a bottom up approach and including suggestions coming from rural milk producer societies and PACS only would make an equitable and all-encompassing and cooperative policy in accordance to the needs of the times. He said we will be able to fulfill the expectations of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, that he has placed on the cooperative sector and the cooperative sector will definitely become the third model of economic development.
8-Apr-2022: Two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy being organized in New Delhi on 12-13 April
Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and to provide renewed impetus to the growth of the cooperative sector and realization of the vision from Cooperation to Prosperity, a new Ministry of Cooperation has been created on 06th July 2021.Under the dynamic leadership of the Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah, the Cooperation Ministry has been working incessantly for development of the cooperative sector for formulation of new schemes and a new Cooperation Policy.
Digitization of PACS, creation of National Database of Cooperative Societies, a scheme for Cooperative Education & Training and an umbrella scheme named “Sahakar Se Samriddhi” are amongst many such initiatives taken by the Ministry to deepen and strengthen the cooperative movement in the country. The Ministry of Cooperation is also formulating a new National Cooperation Policy which may address the new economic and social realities.
In this background, a two-day National Conference on Cooperation Policy is being organized in New Delhi on 12-13 April, 2022. The conference will be inaugurated by the Union Home & Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah. The Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri B. L. Varma will also grace the occasion.
More than two dozen Central Ministries represented by Secretaries and Joint Secretaries, all State Governments and Union Territories represented by their Chief Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Registrar Cooperatives and heads of around 40 Cooperative and other major National Institutions will participate in this conference. This conference is structured into following six important themes covering not only whole life cycle of cooperatives, but also touching upon all facets of their business and governance:
- Present legal framework, identification of regulatory policy, operational barriers and measures required for their removal, leading to Ease of Doing Business and providing a level playing field to cooperatives and other economic entities.
- Reforms for strengthening governance including cooperative principles, democratic member control, increasing member participation, transparency, regular elections, HR Policy, leveraging International and National best practices, account keeping & auditing.
- Making cooperatives vibrant economic entities by strengthening infrastructure, strengthening equity base, access to capital, diversification of activities, promoting entrepreneurship, promoting Branding, Marketing, Business plan development, innovation, technology adoption and exports.
- Training, Education, knowledge sharing and awareness building including mainstreaming cooperatives, linking training with entrepreneurship, inclusion of Women, Youth & Weaker Sections.
- Promoting new cooperatives, revitalizing defunct ones, promoting cooperation among cooperatives, increasing membership, formalizing collectives, developing cooperatives for sustainable growth, mitigating regional imbalances and exploring new sectors
- Promoting social cooperatives and role of cooperatives in social security.
Under the guidance of the Union Home & Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah the Ministry is going to organize a series of such conferences with different stake holders, this being the first. Shortly, another workshop is proposed with all Cooperative Federations to invite their views. These efforts will culminate in the formulation of a new robust National Cooperation Policy, giving impetus to strengthen the cooperative based economic model in the country to realize the vision and mantra of Sahakar Se Samriddhi, of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
16-Dec-2021: PM addresses farmers at National Conclave on Natural Farming
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed farmers at the National Conclave on Natural Farming through a video conference. Union Ministers Shri Amit Shah, Shri Narendra Singh Tomer, Governor of Gujarat, Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were among those present on the occasion.
Addressing the farmers, the Prime Minister called for the adaptation of agriculture according to new requirements, new challenges of the journey till the 100th year of independence. The Prime Minister noted that in the last 6-7 years, several steps have been taken, from seed to market to increase the income of the farmers. Measures from soil testing to hundreds of new seeds, from PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to fixing MSP at 1.5 times the cost of production, from irrigation to a strong network of Kisan Rail have taken the sector in that direction. He greeted the farmers from all over the countries who were connected to the event.
While acknowledging the important role of chemicals and fertilizers in the Green Revolution, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for working on its alternatives simultaneously. He warned against the dangers of pesticides and imported fertilizers which lead to increased costs of inputs and also cause damage to health. The Prime Minister stressed that this is the right time to take big steps before the problems related to agriculture become even worse. “We have to take our agriculture out of the lab of chemistry and connect it to the lab of nature. When I talk about nature's laboratory, it is completely science-based”, the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said today the more modern the world is becoming, the more it is moving towards 'back to basic'. The Prime Minister said, “It means connecting with your roots. Who understands this better than all of you farmer friends? The more we water the roots, the more the plant grows”, said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister remarked that “we need not only to re-learn this ancient knowledge of agriculture but also to sharpen it for modern times. In this direction, we have to do research afresh, mould ancient knowledge into the modern scientific frame”. The Prime Minister asked to be vigilant about the received wisdom. Citing the prevalent notions of burning crop residue, he said that this happens despite experts having established that by setting fire to the field, the earth loses its fertile capacity. He added that an illusion has also arisen that without chemicals the crop will not be good. Whereas the truth is quite the opposite. Earlier there were no chemicals, but the harvest was good. History of the development of humanity is witness to this, he said. “Along with learning new things, we need to unlearn the wrong practices that have crept into our agriculture”, he said. Shri Modi said institutes like ICAR, agriculture universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras can play a big role in this by taking it beyond papers to practical success.
The Prime Minister said that those who will benefit the most from natural farming, constitute about 80% of the farmers of the country. Those small farmers, who have less than 2 hectares of land. Most of these farmers spend a lot on chemical fertilizers. If they turn to natural farming, their condition will be better, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister urged every state, every state government, to come forward to make natural farming a mass movement. In this Amrit Mahotsav, efforts should be made to associate at least one village of every panchayat with natural farming, he insisted.
The Prime Minister recalled that at the Climate Change Summit, he called upon the world to make ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ i.e. LIFE a global mission. India and its farmers are going to lead in this regard in the 21st century. Let's take a pledge to make Maa Bharati's land free from chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, the Prime Minister exhorted the people.
The Government of Gujarat organised the National Conclave on Natural Farming. The three-day Summit was organised from 14th to 16th December 2021. It was attended by over 5000 farmers, apart from farmers connected Live through Central Institutes of ICAR, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) network in the States.
15-Sep-2021: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh addresses 18th India-US Economic Summit through video conferencing
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has invited US companies to invest in India and contribute in realising the dream of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He was delivering the inaugural address at the 18th India-US Economic Summit, on the theme ‘Bouncing Back – Resilient Recovery Path Post COVID-19’, organised by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce through video conferencing on September 15, 2021.
Terming defence sector as an integral part of not just the security but overall growth of the country, Shri Rajnath Singh stated the initiatives taken by the Government have transformed India into a strong and reliable investment destination. He said, India is now home to stable and secure government which focuses on economic growth through series of reforms. He added that robust domestic demand and availability of talented young work force & innovation make India a major investment destination.
The Raksha Mantri called upon the industry leaders to focus on transfer of technology through joint ventures to realise the country’s true potential in defence sector. The foreign OEMs can set up manufacturing facilities individually or partner with Indian companies through a JV or technology agreement to capitalise on the ‘Make in India’ initiative, he added. Shri Rajnath Singh exhorted them to begin the process of Research and Development with the young minds of the country which will increase the linkages among the industries and create an ecosystem through equal contribution from academia and research.
Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised that there is a lot of scope for the American and Indian defence Industries for co-production and co-development, adding that Indian industry can supply components to American Industries. Expressing confidence that American firms will find India as a major investment destination for defence manufacturing, he assured the Industry that the Government is open for new ideas to create a business-friendly environment in India and is committed to push all types of entrepreneurship and manufacturing in the defence sector.
The Raksha Mantri said the summit is taking place at a time when India is celebrating 75th year of Independence, terming it a platinum opportunity for foreign industries, especially US companies, to contribute in building ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. “I am sure that the economic and strategic partnership between India & US will act as a spring board and the forum will act as a bridge to achieve this,” he added.
Shedding light on the growing ties between India & US, Shri Rajnath Singh said the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, 2+2 Dialogue, Quad Security Dialogue and agreements like Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) have taken the bilateral relations to greater heights. He, however, emphasised that the relations are yet to receive its full potential, saying that several progressive policies have been put in place in the last two years that have given the defence sector an unexpected growth trajectory.
The measures include setting up of Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu; increasing the FDI limit to 74 per cent through automatic route and 100 per cent through Government route under certain circumstances; inclusion of 'Buy and Make' category in Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 which provides a vendor with an economical workforce and India gets technology & trained manpower; draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP-2020) with provisions to incentivise foreign investment and notification of two positive indigenisation lists to increase business collaboration.
The Raksha Mantri highlighted that, despite the COVID-19 situation, the country’s economy is back on track due to the steps taken by the Government. “India's GDP has shown a 'V' shaped growth curve in the last two years. Where the growth witnessed a contraction of 24 per cent last year, a jump of 20 per cent has been seen in the first quarter of this year. It is a reflection of the country’s sound economic fundamentals,” he said.
Shri Rajnath Singh further said, “We are expecting double digit growth in FY-22 despite the challenge of COVID-19. But, the challenge will be to maintain a healthy growth rate of 7-8 per cent in the years after FY-22. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, we are preparing for dynamic growth much beyond FY-22.” He added that major structural & procedural reforms in the seven years have prepared India to take a quantum jump in terms of growth. Formulation of progressive & investor friendly tax policies, increased focus on ease of doing business, agriculture and labour reforms are some of the initiatives that have laid the foundation of a ‘New India’, he stated.
The Raksha Mantri also lauded the Indian industry for fulfilling the requirement of masks, PPE kits, ventilators and working with the Government to deal with the pandemic. He added that the Industry is playing a significant role in the world's largest vaccination drive being undertaken in India.
The 18th Indo-US Economic Summit has been organised keeping in view the important role India & US can play in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Business leaders of India & US attended the event virtually. The summit also comprises sessions on social issues like women empowerment. The IACC is the apex bilateral Chamber that aims to synergise the India-US Economic Engagement.