Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday addressed the Maha Sammelan on the ‘Role of Cooperatives in Building a Viksit Bharat,’ organized by the Gujarat State Cooperative Federation in Ahmedabad. The event was attended by prominent leaders, including Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Amit Shah highlighted that the United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives, emphasizing that the concept of cooperatives remains as relevant globally today as it was in 1900. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for initiating a major revival of the cooperative movement in India starting in 2021, which led to India launching the International Year of Cooperatives.
The Union Minister outlined two guiding principles introduced under this initiative: ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ (Prosperity through Cooperation) and the Role of Cooperation in Building a Developed India (Viksit Bharat). He stressed that the cooperative sector cannot be strengthened unless the benefits of reforms reach the grassroots — specifically, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) and farmers. To this end, Shah underscored the importance of promoting cooperative institutions by fostering awareness, training, and transparency.
During the International Cooperative Year, the Government of India has focused on the “Science of Cooperation” and “Science in Cooperation.” Shah noted that although the cooperative movement, which began during India’s freedom struggle, had declined in many regions, it is now a collective responsibility to revive and expand it across all states and districts. Strengthening primary cooperative societies and district-level institutions is vital to reinforce the cooperative framework at state and national levels.
Shah announced the addition of a fourth tier to the traditional global three-tier cooperative structure to broaden cooperation across the country. This expanded structure includes national, state, district, and primary cooperative institutions. He urged utilizing the International Year of Cooperatives to strengthen this framework.
The campaign focuses on three pillars: integrating cooperation into mainstream governance, leveraging technology to bring transparency and authenticity, and increasing citizen engagement with the cooperative movement. To support this, the Ministry of Cooperation has launched around 57 initiatives so far.
Shah emphasized the implementation of “Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives” at the primary level to ensure coordinated functioning of all cooperative institutions. He advised that all primary societies, dairies, and similar entities should maintain their bank accounts with district cooperative banks to promote mutual cooperation.
Highlighting education in the sector, Shah mentioned the establishment of Tribhuvan Sahakari University, which will operate nationally. Cooperative education is being structured in every state around the cooperative model.
A key goal outlined by Shah is strengthening PACS, which he called foundational to the cooperative framework. The Modi government plans to establish a PACS in every panchayat by 2029, with about 2 lakh new PACS and dairies to be registered. Additionally, around 22 activities have been integrated with PACS, and policies will soon be introduced to settle liquidated PACS and establish new ones.
Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, Shah said many new initiatives will continue to strengthen the cooperative sector. The International Cooperative Year 2025 is seen as a crucial opportunity to raise awareness, increase transparency, and conduct recruitments to further empower the cooperative movement across India.
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