Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], November 18 : Amid the celebration for Rashtriya Sahakar Saptah that is being observed from November 14 to 20, the role of cooperative activities in driving the development of both the nation and the state was duly recognised. Notably, Gujarat's Amul, a flagship cooperative institution, stands as a benchmark not only for India but also as a global exemplar of excellence in the cooperative sector.
With approximately 1.71 crore members, more than 89,000 cooperative institutions are operational in Gujarat. Over 48 Lakh Farmers in Gujarat benefitted from Rs3,056 Crore Interest Subsidy Under Government Credit Facilities in the last three years. One in every four Gujarati is part of a Cooperative Society in the state of over six crore people.
The first cooperative society in the country was established in 1889 in Vadodara as the "Anyonya Sahakari Mandali." Under the Cooperative Act of 1904, the Visalpur Cooperative Society in Daskroi taluka of Ahmedabad district was the first registered cooperative in Gujarat.
At the time of Gujarat's formation, the state had a total of 13,959 cooperative societies. Today, this number has grown significantly, with 89,221 cooperative institutions currently operational, comprising approximately 1.71 crore members. This means that in Gujarat, with a population exceeding six crores, every fourth Gujarati is a member of a cooperative society.
Each of Gujarat's 33 district headquarters houses a District Registrar Cooperative Society office. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country witnessed the establishment of a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation for the first time in 2021. Following this, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assumed office as the first Minister of Cooperation, leading to transformative changes in the cooperative sector. Numerous member-centric and welfare-oriented decisions have been implemented, further strengthening the cooperative movement.
Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the guidance of Cooperation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, the State Cooperative Societies Department has extended various benefits to members over the last three financial years, from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
To enhance agricultural productivity in the state, farmers are provided with crop loans through various banks to meet their farming needs. Under the Crop Loan Scheme, farmers receive loans at zero percent interest. This is made possible through contributions of three per cent by the Government of India and four per cent by the Gujarat Government. As a result, the Central and State Governments have jointly disbursed interest subsidies amounting to Rs3,056.48 crores, benefiting over 48 lakh farmers across Gujarat.
Similarly, to strengthen the activities of livestock farmers and fishermen, interest subsidies of Rs19.31 crore and Rs78 lakhs, respectively, have been provided on loans. To ensure timely and adequate grain availability for citizens and to enhance crop storage capacity, farmers are offered a 25% capital subsidy, up to a maximum of Rs5 lakhs, for the construction of warehouses. Under this scheme, the State Government has extended assistance amounting to Rs15 crores to 559 farmers for warehouse construction over the past three years, from 2021 to 2024.
In addition, under the Skill Development initiative, the Government provides an annual grant of Rs2.5 crore to the State Cooperative Federation to ensure that the members and board members of the state's cooperative societies receive information about cooperative laws, regulations, and various operations. This helps in the efficient management of the cooperative societies.
Through this support, more than 3.57 lakh trainees have been provided training over the past three years.
To ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their produce, 224 market committees are operational in the state under the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Development program. Under the "Kisan Kalpavriksh Yojana," these market committees are assisted with the development of infrastructure, including auction sheds, weighbridges, farmer demonstration centres, CC roads, compound walls, and shop-cum-warehouses. Over the past three years, Rs54.55 crore has been allocated to 72 market committees for infrastructure development under this scheme.
Under the Digitalization and Data Management initiative, the state began the registration process on the e-Cooperative portal in 2022 to ensure that comprehensive and organized information is available for financial depositors and that they carry out their operations after obtaining the necessary registration. As part of this scheme, online registration certificates are being issued. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 2,138 new online registrations and 682 online registration renewals have been completed.
Furthermore, to ensure that details of various cases involving cooperatives in the Board of Nominees are accessible, a service has been launched on the online e-Cooperative portal. The NCD database has compiled information on 80,000 different types of cooperatives, which is also available online. As part of legal reforms, cooperative societies, including top state institutions, specified cooperatives, citizen cooperative banks, sugar cooperatives, etc. are now required to follow the e-tendering process for purchases exceeding Rs5 lakhs.
Cooperative societies distribute dividends from their profits to their members. Historically, these dividends were up to 15%, but now, societies will offer dividends of up to 20%, benefiting millions of members. To ensure the proper conduct of elections for the state's market committees, reforms have been made in the market law. Additionally, amendments to cooperative law have been introduced to address the issue of transfer fees for housing societies. These updates have been outlined in the Registrar of Cooperative Societies' report.