Ministry of Cooperation: Sahakar se Samriddhi

Created in 2021 to strengthen the cooperative movement in India.

1. Focus

PACS: (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies) computerization and diversification into multi-service centers.
National Policy: focus on "Ease of Doing Business" for cooperatives.
Multi-State Cooperatives: uniform law for cross-state entities (AMUL model).

🤝 PACS Ecosystem Expansion & Ministry Reply (pre-Policy context) 2024

From a 4 December 2024 Rajya Sabha written reply by Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah — precedes the National Cooperative Policy 2025 (above) with concrete PACS-level initiatives already underway.
Jurisdiction: Ministry of Cooperation (formed July 2021) operates within Union List jurisdiction without infringing on state cooperative autonomy.
PACS Computerization: ₹2,516 crore outlay bringing all functional Primary Agricultural Credit Societies onto a Common National ERP-based software, linked via NABARD/State Co-op Banks/District Central Co-op Banks.
Model Bye-Laws for PACS: Enable 25+ business activities with better governance and inclusion of women and SC/ST members.
Coverage Expansion: Plan to establish new multipurpose PACS/dairy/fishery cooperatives in every uncovered Panchayat over 5 years.
World's Largest Decentralized Grain Storage Plan (cooperative sector): Warehouses, custom hiring centres, and primary processing units at PACS level via convergence of AIF, AMI, SMAM, and PMFME schemes.
NUCFDC: National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation — registered by RBI (8 February 2024) as a Type II non-deposit-taking NBFC umbrella organization for Urban Cooperative Banks, building a unified technology platform.
New PACS Eligibility: Petrol/diesel retail outlet dealerships, LPG distributorships, PM Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra operation, PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendra operation, and Bank Mitra/Micro-ATM services.

🤝 National Cooperation Policy 2025 unveiled 2025

Unveiled 24 July 2025 by Union Home & Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi — India's second-ever cooperation policy (the first was in 2002).
Drafted by a 40-member committee chaired by Suresh Prabhu, after ~750 suggestions and 17 meetings.
Key targets: triple the cooperative sector's contribution to GDP by 2034; bring 50 crore citizens into active cooperative membership; increase the number of cooperative societies by 30% (from the current 8.3 lakh); establish at least one primary cooperative unit in every village/panchayat; develop 5 model cooperative villages in every tehsil (building on the NABARD-led Model Cooperative Village pilot in Gandhinagar).
6 pillars: strengthening the foundation, promoting vibrancy, preparing cooperatives for the future, enhancing inclusivity/reach, expanding into new sectors, preparing youth for cooperative development.
New sectors targeted: tourism, taxi services (a "Sahkar Taxi" initiative, planned to launch by end of 2025 with full profit going to drivers), insurance, green energy.
Core focus: villages, agriculture, rural women, Dalits, tribals.

Success lies in moving from "Stagnation" to "Prosperity-Saturated & Cooperative-Verified Bharat Saturation."