New Delhi, March 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a discussion on increasing the participation of youth and women in cooperatives and emphasised the need for partnerships with global cooperative organisations to expand the Indian cooperative sector.

Chairing a high-level meeting here, PM Modi also held discussions on promoting "Sahkar Se Samruddhi", bringing transformation through technological advancements and stressed on promoting organic products through cooperative organisations, according to a PMO statement.

He suggested focusing on export markets and developing a soil testing model through cooperatives to improve agricultural practices.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of integrating UPI with RuPay KCC cards to facilitate financial transactions and emphasised the need for healthy competition among cooperative organisations.

Besides, the Prime Minister emphasised the importance of documenting the assets of cooperative organisations to ensure transparency. He suggested promoting cooperative farming as a more sustainable agricultural model and recommended the use of digital public infrastructure (Agristack) to expand agriculture and related activities in Cooperative Sector, providing farmers with better access to services, the statement said.

In the context of education, the Prime Minister proposed introducing cooperative courses in schools, colleges, and IIMs, as well as promoting successful cooperative organisations to inspire future generations. He further added that young graduates should be encouraged to contribute, and Cooperative organisations should be ranked based on their performance, so as to promote competition and growth simultaneously.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed about the National Cooperation Policy and key achievements of the Ministry of Cooperation over the past three and a half years. Realising the vision of 'Sahkar Se Samruddhi’, the Ministry has formulated a draft of the National Cooperation Policy 2025 through an extensive consultation process.

The objective of the National Cooperation Policy 2025 policy is to facilitate the systematic and holistic development of the cooperative sector, with a focus on accelerating rural economic development, while prioritising women and youth. It aims to deepen the grassroots impact of cooperatives and significantly enhance the contribution to the overall development of the country.

Since its inception, the Ministry has undertaken 60 initiatives across seven key areas to promote and strengthen the cooperative movement. These initiatives include the digitization of cooperative institutions through the National Cooperative Database and Computerisation Projects, as well as the strengthening of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). Additionally, the Ministry has focused on enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of cooperative sugar mills.

The Government of India has implemented various schemes for cooperative societies through a "whole of government approach," integrating over 15 schemes from more than 10 ministries at the PACS level.

During the meeting it was highlighted that presently, one-fifth of the country's population is associated with the cooperative sector, which includes over 8.2 lakh cooperative institutions spanning more than 30 sectors, with a membership exceeding 30 crore individuals.

The meeting was attended by Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah; Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Ashish Kumar Bhutani; the Principal Secretary to PM, P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary-2 to PM, Shaktikanta Das.

--IANS

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