Union Home and Cooperation Affairs Minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a ‘Manthan Bathk’ with cooperative ministers from all states and center areas to celebrate 2025 of international cooperatives.
Earlier on 20 June, Amit Shah addressed a national seminar held in Mumbai, which was on the occasion of 2025 of the cooperative societies of the international year.
Union Minister Shah said that while cooperative societies can be an economic system for the whole world, cooperation for India, is a traditional philosophy of life. Staying together, thinking together, working together, moving to a general goal, and standing by each other in happiness and sorrow is part of the soul of Indian philosophy.
He said that about 125-year cooperative movement has been a support for the poor, farmers, rural citizens and especially women of the country through many ups and downs.
Amit Shah said that under the cooperative movement, Amul, Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), Krishak Bharti Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO), and organizations like National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) have made many success stories.
Today, 36 lakh poor rural women are associated with Amul, who have not invested more than Rs 100 in the capital, yet due to their hard work, Amul has a business of Rs 80,000 crore, in which profits have been collected directly in these women’s bank accounts.
Shah said that whether it is IFFCO or Kribhco, small farmers do toilets in their fields and supply their produce to the Government of India on the minimum support price (MSP), and the same grain is distributed to the poor as 5 kg free ration every month. The backbone of this entire plan is NCCF and, in particular, nafed.
The United Nations has declared 2025 as the ‘International Year of Cooperative Societies’, in which “construction of cooperatives is a better world”.
The primary objective of the initiative is to outline cooperatives in the social and economic development of a country, and to solve challenges such as poverty, unemployment and social inequality. (AI)
