Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah is set to inaugurate 10,000 newly established multipurpose Primary Agriculture Credit Societies, along with dairy and fisheries cooperative societies, in a significant push to strengthen India’s rural economy. The inauguration, scheduled for Wednesday, marks a major milestone in the government’s efforts to bolster the cooperative sector and drive rural development.
This initiative comes nearly nine months after the launch of the National Cooperative Database, a transformative tool introduced by Amit Shah in March to compile and streamline data on the country’s extensive cooperative ecosystem. At the time, Amit Shah emphasized that the database, developed by the Ministry of Cooperation under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Sahakar se Samriddhi” (prosperity through cooperation), would act as a catalyst for advancing India’s cooperative movement. The initiative was hailed as a critical step toward documenting and analyzing data to enhance the efficiency and reach of cooperatives across the nation.
The National Cooperative Database, a web-based digital dashboard, has already mapped over eight lakh cooperative societies, representing more than 29 crore members. It includes comprehensive information such as the registered names, registration dates, locations, membership sizes, operational areas, economic activities, financial statements, and audit statuses of these societies. The database also integrates data from national federations, state federations, state cooperative banks, district central cooperative banks, urban cooperative banks, and other cooperative entities across various sectors.
The project’s phased approach to data collection ensured that the initiative captured information from approximately 2.64 lakh primary cooperative societies in its initial stage. Subsequent phases expanded the scope to include data from sugar cooperative mills, district unions, and multi-state cooperative societies, resulting in a comprehensive mapping of the cooperative ecosystem. State and Union Territory nodal officials validated the data through rigorous procedures, ensuring accuracy and transparency.
The database provides a user-friendly interface, query-based reports, management information system tools, data analytics, and geographical mapping capabilities. These features enable seamless communication between the Ministry of Cooperation, states, and cooperative societies, enhancing decision-making and fostering collaboration.
This monumental effort underscores the government’s commitment to addressing rural economic and social challenges through the cooperative sector. By empowering individuals, reducing poverty, and promoting rural connectivity, the establishment of 10,000 new primary agriculture credit societies, dairy, and fisheries societies reflects the transformative potential of the cooperative movement in reshaping India’s rural economy.
