Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, today chaired a National Conference in New Delhi on the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Cooperation in the first 100 days of the third term of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led NDA government. Many dignitaries including Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Panchayati Raj, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Shri Lallan Singh, Minister of State for Cooperation, Shri Muralidhar Mohol and Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani were present on the occasion. On this occasion, Shri Amit Shah launched the ‘Margdarshika’ for the formation and strengthening of 2 lakh new MPACS, Dairy and Fishery Cooperatives. He also launched the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on ‘White Revolution 2.0’ and ‘Cooperation among Cooperatives’.
First 100 days in Modi 3.0
Addressing the National Conference, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that in the 100 days of the third term of the Prime Minister Modi’s led government, the Ministry of Cooperation has taken 10 important initiatives, out of which three initiatives are being launched today. He said that for years, there was a demand for a Ministry of Cooperation at the national level to take the cooperative movement, involved in more than 15 different types of activities, to every village of the country with a holistic approach and equitable development. He said that for almost 70 years this demand was not given attention in the corridors of power, but finally Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, decided to establish an independent Ministry of Cooperation. Shri Shah said that it is a matter of good fortune for him that PM Modi gave him the honour of becoming the first Minister of Cooperation of the country.
Shri Amit Shah said that cooperation binds together the strengths of individuals and transforms it into the capability of the society. He said that the mantra of cooperation calls upon all to come together, share each one’s good qualities, work together to hide each other’s shortcomings and help as one in the development of nation. He said that the mantra of cooperation has shown miraculous results in many places, but for a long time the cooperative movement was becoming irrelevant in our country. Shri Shah said that in the last 70 years, the necessary changes that were to be made in cooperatives were not made, due to which cooperatives became very successful in some states, while, it was left to the mercy of state governments in many others, and it totally disappeared from some states.
Objectives of Ministry of Cooperation
Union Minister of Cooperation said that when the Ministry of Cooperation was formed, the objective was to revive cooperative institutions in every district and village of the country, the law of cooperatives, its systems and culture should be adaptive of the need of the hour, for a new beginning. He said that it should be providing employment in a country of 140 crore people driving country’s prosperity and enabling people to live with self-respect. He said that a lot of work has been done in the last three years towards this objective, under which, more than 60 new initiatives have been taken so far. Shri Shah said that the 10 initiatives taken in the last 100 days will make a huge contribution in perfecting the cooperative sector. He said that we had prepared a joint proposal of two lakh MPACS, dairy and fishery cooperatives and sent it across the country. All the states have accepted it. He said that once two lakh primary cooperative societies are registered, there will not be a single panchayat in the country where there is no PACS, dairy or fisheries cooperative society. He said that once this happens, co-operatives will be able to reach the whole country, which will lead to the creation of cooperative institutions at tehsil and district level and state institutions will also gain new strength and momentum.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the PACS formed in the old times had shut down, but the new PACS that will be registered will be made viable entity by adding 25 different types of works that can be done by them. He said that earlier PACS used to give short term loans for agriculture, but now PACS have been linked with things like dairy, fisheries, warehouse, cheap grain shop, cheap medicine shop, petrol pump, LPG cylinder, water distribution etc. With this, the PACS formed in every panchayat will work to strengthen our three-tier cooperative structure. He said that when PACS will become strong, or their numbers increase, then the district cooperative banks automatically will become stronger, and due to the strengthening of district cooperative banks, the state cooperative banks will strengthened in turn.
Margdarshika ( SOP) launched for white revolution 2.0
Shri Amit Shah said that Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) of white revolution 2.0 has been released today. He said that white revolution 2.0 will work for women’s self-reliance and women empowerment. He said that mothers and sisters are associated with milk production and especially cooperative dairies. No one can strengthen our mothers and sisters and make them self-reliant and independent, as much as the dairy sector. Shri Shah said that 36 lakh sisters in Gujarat are involved in the dairy sector and they do a total business worth ₹60,000 crore. He said that today Amul has become the most trusted brand in the food sector in the entire world. He said that while on one side white revolution 2.0 will empower women, it will also give strength to the fight against malnutrition. With the increase in availability of milk, the biggest benefit will pass on to the poor and malnourished children. Citing the example of Gujarat, he said that a mother associated with dairy, will always ensure proper nourishment to her children. Shri Shah said that malnutrition in children can only be eradicated by the efforts of our mothers, more than the efforts by the governments.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that mothers and sisters do a lot of work in our homes, but despite that, they are considered unemployed. He said that White Revolution 2.0 will work to provide employment especially to women in rural areas. When the bank cheques arrive in the names of women, they will be very happy.
Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has launched a huge campaign for natural farming. He said that natural farming will be strengthened by continuing the business of animal husbandry, because natural farming is successful only with the help of animal dung.
Union Minister of Cooperation said that the work of increasing the fertility of cultivable land will also be done through animal husbandry. He said that White Revolution 2.0 has been launched by incorporating these objectives together. He said that many people are apprehensive about whether budget support will be available for this program or not, therefore I assure the Animal Husbandry Department that this is the highest priority area of the government and this program will get full budgetary support.
Cooperation among Cooperatives
Shri Amit Shah said that an important initiative has been taken in the form of “Cooperation among Cooperatives”. He said that under this, we conducted experiments in two districts of Gujarat, Panchmahal and Banaskantha. We decided to open bank accounts of all the institutions of the cooperative sector in the cooperative banks. Apart from this, debit and credit cards were given to the mothers and sisters associated with the Primary Cooperative Society and Milk Producers Committee, which made them financially strong. Under this, till now more than four lakh bank accounts have been opened in cooperative banks and more than Rs 550 crore has been deposited in just two districts. 1732 micro ATMs were opened and 20,000 new credit cards were issued. Digital transactions worth about 24 lakhs were done using the new credit cards. He said that till now it has not been fully implemented in Gujarat, but more than 9 lakh accounts have been opened so far and deposits of about Rs 4000 crore have increased in cooperative banks. Under this, a total of 2600 micro ATMs have been distributed. Now we are taking it to the national level.
Union Cooperation Minister said that for convenience, we have decided that we will make the district a unit for this program. The concept of ‘cooperation among cooperatives’ will be launched in those districts where cooperative business is good. He said that you will come across cooperative societies in every district or tehsil of Bihar. He said that the Ministry of Cooperation has a database of every Panchayat, every Tehsil, every district and every State of the entire country, and also has a national database. Through this, it can be ascertained how many cooperative societies there are, what type they are and how their audit works. He said that we have made the cooperative database available to the District/State Cooperative Register and in the District Cooperative Bank branches.
Shri Amit Shah said that the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) will try to open new dairies. He said that we have made a scientific arrangement and all types of agencies are working together for this.
