Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, chaired the Manthan Baithak with Cooperation Ministers from all States and Union Territories in New Delhi on Monday. The meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, was organized to commemorate the upcoming International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025.
In his address, Shri Amit Shah emphasized that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi established the Ministry of Cooperation with the vision of reviving India’s rich cooperative tradition while adapting it to modern needs.
Highlighting the transformative impact of the Modi government over the last decade, Shah stated, “Around 60 to 70 crore people were living in scarcity for generations without access to basic facilities. In the last ten years, their dreams have been fulfilled with access to housing, toilets, drinking water, food grains, healthcare, gas cylinders, and more.”
He underlined over 60 key initiatives, including the National Cooperative Database, aimed at ensuring that no village in India remains without a cooperative society. Stressing the importance of state participation, Shah urged all states to announce their State Cooperative Policy by January 31, 2026.
Touching upon economic empowerment, Shah said, “Those who have benefited from the government’s welfare schemes now aspire to become entrepreneurs but lack sufficient capital. For them, cooperation is the only meaningful way to work with limited resources. Cooperation is the key to generating employment in a country of 140 crore people.”
The meeting also reviewed the progress of establishing 2 lakh Multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), strengthening dairy and fisheries cooperatives, and rolling out the world’s largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector
Further discussions revolved around financial reforms, digital transformation, promotion of natural farming, and capacity building through Tribhuvan Shakari University.
States also evaluated their roles in supporting newly established national cooperative bodies, such as National Cooperative Export Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organic Limited (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL)
Preparations for the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, marking a new era of cooperative-driven rural development in India, were also thoroughly discussed.
