NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress of the cooperative sector, where he stressed the expansion of the sector, especially in trade of organic products, an official statement said.
PM Modi also suggested focusing on export markets and developing a soil-testing model through cooperatives to improve agricultural practices, an official quoted him as saying.
“The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of integrating UPI with RuPay KCC cards to facilitate financial transactions and emphasized the need for healthy competition among cooperative organizations,” the statement said.
Modi also emphasised the importance of documenting the assets of cooperative organisations to ensure transparency and suggested promoting cooperative farming as a more sustainable agricultural model, according to the statement.
In the context of education, the PM proposed introducing cooperative courses in schools, colleges, and IIMs, as well as promoting successful cooperative organizations to inspire future generations.
“He further added that young graduates should be encouraged to contribute, and Cooperative organisations should be ranked based on their performance, so as to promote competition and growth simultaneously,” the statement said.
Among others, the meeting was attended by home and cooperation minister Amit Shah, cooperation secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani and principal secretary to PK Mishra.
During the meeting, the PM was briefed about National Cooperation Policy and key achievements of the cooperation ministry over the past three and a half years. Realising the vision of ‘Sahkar Se Samruddhi’, the ministry has formulated a draft of the National Cooperation Policy 2025 through an extensive consultation process.
The objective of the policy is to facilitate the systematic and holistic development of the cooperative sector, with a focus on accelerating rural economic development, while prioritising women and youth. It aims to promote a cooperative-based economic model and establish a robust legal and institutional framework.