PM Modi reviews cooperative sector progress, calls for tech integration and policy overhaul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress of the cooperative sector, where he stressed the need for technological transformation, youth and women participation, and global partnerships to strengthen the sector.

During the meeting, the prime minister highlighted the integration of UPI with RuPay Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to facilitate seamless financial transactions for farmers, according to an official statement. He also called for healthy competition among cooperative organisations and urged for proper documentation of cooperative assets to ensure transparency.

Presently, one-fifth of the country's population is linked to the cooperative sector, which includes over 8.2 lakh cooperative institutions spanning more than 30 sectors and comprising over 30 crore members.

Modi suggested promoting cooperative farming as a sustainable agricultural model and advocated the use of digital public infrastructure, such as Agristack, to expand agriculture-related activities. He further proposed introducing cooperative-focused courses in schools, colleges, and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to educate future generations on the benefits of cooperative models.

The prime minister also recommended ranking cooperative organisations based on their performance to foster competition and growth while encouraging young graduates to actively participate in the sector.

The meeting was attended by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister Shaktikanta Das, Advisor to the Prime Minister Amit Khare, and other senior officials.

During the meeting, officials briefed Modi on the draft National Cooperation Policy 2025, which aims to systematically develop the cooperative sector, accelerate rural economic growth, and enhance the role of women and youth in cooperative enterprises. It seeks to establish a robust legal and institutional framework while deepening the grassroots impact of cooperatives.

Officials also presented key achievements of the Ministry of Cooperation over the past three and a half years. Since its inception, the Ministry has launched 60 initiatives across seven focus areas, including the digitisation of cooperative institutions through the National Cooperative Database and Computerisation Projects and the strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

The government has adopted a "whole of government approach" to integrating over 15 schemes from more than 10 ministries at the PACS level, the release said. T

As a result, there has been diversification in cooperative businesses, additional income generation, increased opportunities for cooperatives, and improved accessibility of government schemes in rural areas, it added.