The Ministry of Cooperation is implementing a comprehensive program to support agricultural cooperatives in hilly regions of India through multiple initiatives and financial assistance. Through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the ministry disbursed a total of ₹422.95 crore to 12 hilly states and union territories over the five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, with Uttarakhand receiving the largest share at ₹287.95 crore. Other significant recipients include Himachal Pradesh (₹40.15 crore), Manipur (₹38.37 crore), Assam (₹28.19 crore), and Tripura (₹20.56 crore), while smaller amounts went to states like Mizoram (₹11.87 crore), Jammu & Kashmir (₹6.15 crore), and Nagaland (₹3.49 crore).
To improve service delivery, the ministry established new NCDC offices in nine hilly and remote areas including Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, supplementing existing offices in Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Three major national cooperative organizations have been established to support various aspects of agricultural development. The Bhartiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) provides quality, certified seeds to farmers and has supplied 2,488 quintals of seeds to Uttarakhand alone. The National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) serves as an umbrella organization for exporting cooperative products, while the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) focuses on procurement, certification, and marketing of organic produce. NCOL has already procured significant quantities from Uttarakhand including 417 metric tons of organic wheat, 40 metric tons of organic Basmati, and 30 metric tons of sweeteners including jaggery, khandsari and brown sugar.
These organizations have signed Memoranda of Understanding with multiple hilly states: BBSSL has agreements with 10 states, NCEL with 8 states, and NCOL with 11 states including all major hilly regions. Membership data shows extensive participation from cooperative societies across these states, with Uttarakhand leading in all three organizations (551 societies in BBSSL, 487 in NCEL, and 387 in NCOL). Himachal Pradesh shows strong participation with 469 societies in BBSSL, 145 in NCEL, and 139 in NCOL, while other states like Tripura (165 BBSSL, 114 NCEL, 105 NCOL) and Jammu & Kashmir (176 BBSSL, 30 NCEL, 10 NCOL) also have significant representation.
The program provides multiple benefits to member cooperatives including access to quality seeds, assistance in quality testing and certification, access to national and international markets, better price realization for produce, and dividends on shareholding. The information was formally presented by Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.