New Delhi: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, said on Thursday that, in the last three years of the Ministry of Cooperation, nearly 60 new initiatives have been introduced. He added that the 10 initiatives launched in the last 100 days will significantly contribute to making the cooperative sector more comprehensive.
Addressing the National Conference on the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Cooperation in the first 100 days of the BJP government’s third term in the Centre organised here in Delhi, Amit Shah asserted that the Modi government is accelerating the rural economy through cooperatives.
“When the Ministry of Cooperation was established, its aim was to revive cooperatives in every district and village across the country, modernise their laws and culture to fit the times, and shape them into a new framework. This would help create new employment opportunities in a country of 1.4 billion people, allowing individuals to live with dignity through their own means,” he said.
“In the last three years, nearly 60 new initiatives have been taken, and the 10 initiatives we’ve launched in the last 100 days will significantly contribute to making the cooperative sector more comprehensive,” Shah added.
The Ministry of Cooperation was established by transferring the existing entries related to cooperation and cooperatives in the business of the erstwhile Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare, vide Cabinet Secretariat’s Gazette Notification dated July 6, 2021.
Shah also highlighted that the Centre has linked various services–such as affordable food shops, low-cost medicine shops, petrol pumps, LPG gas cylinder distribution, and water supply systems–with PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies). This will help strengthen the three-tier cooperative structure, with two lakh PACS to be established in every panchayat.
“As PACS strengthen and their numbers grow, district banks will automatically become stronger, which will, in turn, strengthen state cooperative banks,” Amit Shah said.
The Minister of Cooperation further emphasised that providing women employment will be achieved through “White Revolution 2.0” because the income from dairy will be attributed to women.
“Prime Minister Modi has launched a significant campaign for natural farming, and strengthening animal husbandry will support natural farming, as animal manure plays a key role in its success. Today, we are launching White Revolution 2.0, and I want to assure the Animal Husbandry Department that this is the government’s top priority and will receive full budgetary support,” he added.
Amit Shah also mentioned that the government conducted an experiment to see the impact of opening bank accounts for people involved in cooperative activities in cooperative banks and institutions.
“We also provided debit and credit cards to women associated with primary cooperative societies like dairy production societies to empower them. We saw excellent results from this initiative. In Panchmahal and Banaskantha districts (in Gujarat), we launched a campaign in which over 400,000 new bank accounts were opened in cooperative banks, and more than Rs 500 crore was deposited in just two districts. Additionally, 1,732 micro ATMs were established, and 20,000 new credit cards were issued, leading to approximately 24 lakh digital transactions,” he mentioned.
“So far, across the state, over 900,000 accounts have been opened, and deposits in cooperative banks have increased by around Rs 4,000 crore. Now, we need to take this initiative to the national level. Today, the Ministry of Cooperation has a database for every panchayat and every state,” he added. (ANI)
