New National Committee To Form Cooperation Policy: Amit Shah

Giving a reply to a written question on 'National Policy on Cooperation' in the Lok Sabha today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that a National level committee was constituted on September 2 under the chairmanship of Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu to formulate the New National Cooperation Policy.

The committee comprised of experts of the cooperative sector, representatives from National/ State/ District/ Primary level cooperative societies, Secretaries (Cooperation) and RCSs from States/UTs, and officers from Central Ministries/ Departments to formulate the New National Cooperation Policy.

The formulation of the New National Cooperation Policy will help in realising the vision of 'Sahakar se Samriddhi', promoting the cooperative-based economic development model, strengthening the cooperative movement in the country and deepening its reach up to the grassroots.

In this regard, consultations were earlier held with stakeholders and suggestions for formulating the new Policy were invited from the Central Ministries/ Departments, States/UTs, National Cooperative Federations, Institutions and also from the general public.

The National level committee will analyse the collated feedback, and policy suggestions and recommendations to formulate the draft of the new policy.

A number of steps has been taken by the Government, after the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation, to strengthen India's cooperative architecture syncing it with the country's economic and social needs, inter-alia, including the following:

Computerization of PACS: Process to onboard 63,000 functional PACS on an ERP-based common national software with an outlay of Rs 2,516 Crore started; Model byelaws for PACS: Model bylaws prepared and circulated for their adoption as per the respective State Cooperatives Act to enable PACS to undertake more than 25 business activities like dairy, fishery, setting up of godowns, LPG/ Petrol/ Green energy distribution agency, banking correspondents, CSC, etc;

PACS as Common Service Centres (CSC): MoU signed between Ministry of Cooperation, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, NABARD and CSC -SPV to facilitate the functioning of PACS as CSCs to improve their viability, provide e-services at the village level and generate employment; National Cooperative Database: Preparation of an authentic and updated data repository of cooperatives in the country started to facilitate stakeholders in policy making and implementation.

National Cooperative Policy: A National level committee comprising experts and stakeholders drawn from all over the Country constituted to formulate the New Cooperation Policy to create an enabling ecosystem to realize the vision of 'Sahakar-se-Samriddhi'.

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