Why in news?
The government released a draft National Cooperative Policy 2025 to modernise and expand India’s cooperative sector. The policy aims to enhance the sector’s contribution to GDP and empower farmers, workers and women through collective enterprises.
Objectives
- Strengthening cooperatives: Tripling the sector’s share in the economy by 2034 by improving governance, professionalism and access to capital.
- Expanding reach: Establishing two lakh new Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) so that every village has at least one cooperative by 2026.
- Diversification: Encouraging cooperatives beyond agriculture into tourism, taxi services, insurance, renewable energy, and digital services to create employment opportunities.
- Education and training: Setting up a Tribhuvan Sahkari University to provide courses in cooperative management, law and technology.
- Inclusivity: Promoting women‑led cooperatives, youth participation and ensuring that benefits accrue to tribal and marginalised communities.
Key features
- Six pillars: (1) Building a robust cooperative foundation; (2) Promoting professionalism; (3) Ensuring good governance; (4) Expanding the cooperative network to underserved areas; (5) Engaging youth and women; and (6) Leveraging technology and innovation.
- Modernisation: Reforming outdated cooperative laws, introducing audited accounting standards and establishing online platforms for recruitment and training.
- Consultative process: A 48‑member committee chaired by former minister Suresh Prabhu consulted stakeholders through 17 meetings and received hundreds of suggestions, reflecting cooperative federalism.
Way forward
The new policy envisions cooperatives as engines of rural development and social equity. To succeed it must address challenges such as political interference, limited access to professional management and outdated technology. Transparent elections, member‑driven decision‑making and digital tools will be essential to revitalise India’s cooperative movement.