Cooperation ministry infused new energy in sector: Shah

The country’s cooperative movement received new vigour and momentum after the Narendra Modi-led Government established a separate ministry for the sector, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said.

He was speaking after virtually inaugurating ‘Sahakar Bhavan’, the newly constructed headquarters of Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank here on Tuesday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present on the occasion.

Modernisation is essential for strengthening the cooperative system, and this process begins with modernising the headquarters and functioning of the cooperative institutions, Shah noted.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India established a separate Ministry of Cooperation and infused new energy and momentum into the country’s cooperative movement,” he said.

The Centre set up a separate Ministry of Cooperation in 2021. The ministry provides a separate administrative, legal and policy framework to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

Shah emphasised that initiatives, such as establishing more than two lakh new primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) and dairy cooperative societies, adding more than 20 new business activities to PACS, taking the audit system of cooperative institutions online and connecting different cooperative institutions, will play an important role in ensuring the prosperity of farmers and strengthening the rural economy in the coming years.

The Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank, which began in 1969 with a modest Capital of only Rs 2.5 lakh, has a business of more than Rs 215 crore today, he said.

As service cooperative societies and dairy cooperative societies expand their areas of operation, the bank will play an increasingly important role as a major institution meeting the financial requirements of the cooperative sector across the district, the minister said.

The modern headquarters, constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 25 crore, has been built on 25,000 square feet of land, and offers nearly 47,000 square feet of functional space.

The building has been designed keeping in view the bank’s projected requirements for the next 15 years, he said.

The new headquarters of Jamnagar District Cooperative Bank has been constructed in conformity with all the standards prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NABARD, and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the Union Minister added.