New Delhi: A new national cooperation policy is likely to be unveiled in July 2023 after Union Home and Cooperative Minister Amit Shah gave his guidance to the drafting committee members here today.
The chairman of the national-level committee for drafting a new national cooperation policy document, former union minister Suresh Prabhu, made a presentation to Shah here today. The committee members also briefed the minister about the objectives, vision and mission of the draft policy along with key recommendations in various sectors including structural reforms and governance, cooperatives as vibrant economic entities, level playing field for cooperatives, sources of capital and funds, the inclusion of priority sections, use of technology, upskilling and training, sustainability and implementation plan.
During the meeting, Shah referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sehkaar Se Samriddhi’ to strengthen the cooperative movement at the grassroots level through the new policy.
The drafting committee will now consult all the stakeholders including state governments, central ministries/departments, and national cooperatives.
The committee for drafting the new national cooperation policy was formed on September 2, 2022, since the current policy on cooperation was formulated in 2002 and there was a felt need to draft a new policy to deal with the changed economic scenario.
The drafting committee under Prabhu comprises 49 members drawn from all over the country and various stakeholders such as officers of cooperation departments of various state governments, ministries/departments concerned of central governments, institutions like IRMA, Reserve Bank of India, national federations like IFFCO, NCCF, NAFCARD, NAFCUB, KRIBHCO, NFCSF, NCUI, NAFED, representatives from cooperative societies in various sectors, academicians and experts.
The process of forming a new national cooperation policy was initiated when the concept was discussed in the conference of state cooperation secretaries and registrar of cooperative societies held on April 12 and 13, 2022, and State Cooperation Ministers held on September 8 and 9, 2022, which were inaugurated by Shah. More than 500 suggestions were received from various stakeholders and the general public for the draft policy document.
The national level committee after its formation held more than 8 meetings and also consulted various stakeholders to prepare the draft document.
– global bihari bureau
