Why in News?

The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, recently unveiled the National Cooperative Policy 2025, replacing the two-decade-old policy adopted in 2002 during A.B. Vajpayee’s tenure. This move reflects the Modi government’s commitment to revitalizing and expanding the cooperative sector to achieve “Sahkar se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation).

Coming at a time when the United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives with the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World,” the policy is seen as a landmark reform and vision document, aiming to propel India’s cooperative institutions towards building a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence.

What are Cooperatives?

Cooperatives are grassroots-level organisations formed by people who come together to leverage the power of collective effort and shared resources. Their goal is to achieve common economic or social benefits that may be difficult to attain individually. In simple terms, cooperatives enable members to pool capital, labour, or other assets to improve their bargaining power and outcomes in the marketplace.

For example, in the agricultural sector, farmers often form cooperative dairies, sugar mills, or spinning mills to collectively process and market their produce. This allows them to reduce costs, eliminate middlemen, and earn better returns—benefits that would be hard to achieve as individual producers.

Historical Background: The Cooperative Movement in India

India has a rich legacy of cooperative development dating back over a century:

• 1904: The Cooperative Credit Societies Act was enacted following the recommendations of the Edward Law Committee to address rural indebtedness.
• 1912: The Cooperative Societies Act expanded the scope of cooperatives beyond credit.
• 1914: The Madras Cooperative Union and the first Cooperative Housing Society were established.
• 1919: Cooperatives became a provincial subject under the Government of India Act.
• 1925: Bombay Cooperative Societies Act became the first provincial legislation.
• 1946: Amul was registered as a cooperative society—a pre-independence milestone that reshaped India’s dairy sector post-Independence.
• Post-Independence: Cooperatives became central to India’s development agenda through Five-Year Plans, especially in agriculture, rural credit, and dairy.
• 2002: A National Cooperative Policy was adopted under PM Vajpayee, formalizing support for cooperatives at the national level.

National Cooperative Policy 2025: Key Highlights

Duration & Vision

• Effective from: 2025 to 2045
• Vision: To support the realization of a developed India (Viksit Bharat) by 2047 through the cooperative model.
• Tagline: “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”

Six Strategic Pillars of the Policy

1. Strengthening the Foundation
   • Upgrading governance, accountability, and transparency in cooperative institutions.
   • Improving regulatory frameworks at national and state levels.
2. Promoting Vibrancy
   • Enhancing operational efficiency, autonomy, and competitiveness of cooperatives.
   • Encouraging innovation and enterprise.
3. Preparing Cooperatives for the Future
   • Digital transformation, technology adoption, and integration with e-commerce and fintech.
   • Establishment of national-level digital cooperative platforms.
4. Enhancing Inclusivity & Expanding Reach
   • Focusing on women-led, youth-led, and tribal cooperatives.
   • Making cooperative services accessible in remote and underserved areas.
5. Expanding into New Sectors
   • Diversifying beyond agriculture into sectors like exports, health, tourism, education, and housing.
   • Facilitating entry into global value chains via export-focused cooperatives.
6. Capacity Building for the Younger Generation
   • Cooperative education in school curricula.
   • Establishing training institutes and cooperative universities.

Institutional Support & Recent Milestones

Formation of the Ministry of Cooperation (2021)

• The Ministry of Cooperation (Sahkarita Mantralaya) was created in July 2021, separating cooperative affairs from the Agriculture Ministry.
• Its formation was a major administrative reform, signaling increased political and financial commitment.

Key Initiatives Since 2021:

1. Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023
   • Introduced new regulatory bodies and transparency norms.
2. Launch of National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL)
   • Facilitates exports of agricultural products; already received orders worth ₹5,000 crore.
3. Model Cooperative Village Initiative
   • Piloted in Gujarat with support from NABARD to integrate cooperative development at the grassroots.
4. Grain Storage Scheme
   • Proposed creation of the world’s largest grain storage network under cooperative ownership.
5. 2 Lakh New PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies)
   • Expansion of rural credit and agri-services infrastructure.
6. Tribhuvan Sahkari University in Anand, Gujarat
   • India’s first national cooperative university aimed at research, skilling, and education in cooperation.

Global Significance & India’s Role

• UN Declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives affirms the relevance of cooperatives in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• India played a crucial role in hosting the launch of this initiative in November 2024, underlining its leadership in the global cooperative movement.

Cooperative Sector Today: Reach and Relevance

• Over 8.5 lakh cooperative societies in India.
• Significant contributors to dairy, sugar, credit, fertilizer distribution, housing, and now exports.
• Milk revolution led by Amul turned India into the largest milk producer in the world with 239 million tonnes in 2023–24.

Challenges Addressed by the New Policy

• Outdated legal frameworks.
• Lack of digital integration and transparency.
• Political interference and weak governance.
• Urban-rural divide in cooperative access.
• Youth disinterest and low awareness in schools.

Way Forward

The National Cooperative Policy 2025 is not merely an administrative update. It reflects a paradigm shift—from cooperatives as welfare institutions to dynamic engines of socio-economic transformation. By empowering rural India, leveraging technology, and enhancing international trade participation, the policy envisions a cooperative-led model of inclusive development for the next two decades.

Conclusion

The National Cooperative Policy 2025 is a bold and visionary step to rejuvenate one of India’s oldest and most grassroots-driven economic models. With cooperative principles of mutual aid, democratic participation, and collective growth, the policy sets the stage for building an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat, where prosperity is not just top-down but bottom-up—enabled by the power of cooperation.

“In cooperation lies India’s future. From rural prosperity to global trade, the cooperative movement is not just a tool of the past—it is the engine of India’s transformation.”