Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India sees a huge role for cooperatives in its future development and over the past 10 years, the country has worked to transform the entire ecosystem related to cooperatives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday emphasized the need to link the cooperative movement with the circular economy and promote international cooperation in the field. Addressing the ICA Global Cooperative Conference 2024 at the Bharat Mandapam here, Modi said that for India, cooperatives are the bedrock of culture and a way of life.
He further said that India sees a huge role for cooperatives in its future development and in the last 10 years the country has worked to transform the entire ecosystem related to cooperatives.
“Our effort is to make cooperatives multi-purpose,” he said, adding that with the objective in mind, the Government of India has created a separate Ministry of Cooperatives.
Modi said that cooperative societies are playing an important role in the housing sector as well as the banking segment.
There are about 2 lakh housing cooperative societies in the country.
He said that the government has strengthened and reformed the cooperative banking sector.
“India is among the fastest growing economies in the world. Our objective is to achieve high GDP growth and pass the benefits to the poor. There is a need for the world to look at growth from a human-centric angle,” he said.
Emphasizing that there are huge opportunities for cooperatives in the world, Modi said that cooperatives need to be flag bearers for integrity and mutual respect in the world.
“For this, we need to formulate our policies and strategies. To make the cooperative environment resilient, we need to link it with the circular economy. We need to discuss ways to encourage startups in the cooperative sector,” he added.
At present, deposits in cooperative banks are about Rs 12 lakh crore.
The Prime Minister also told the gathering that his government is committed to further strengthen the cooperative movement and about 2 lakh additional multi-purpose cooperative societies are being set up in villages.
He also appreciated the role being played by women in promoting the cooperative movement and said that about 60 percent of the members are women.
Modi said that India believes that cooperation can provide new energy to global cooperation and help countries, especially in the Global South, achieve the kind of development they need.