8th National Conference on India's Cooperative Sector Roadmap
The Ministry of Cooperation convened the 8th National Conference in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, focusing on the theme 'Sahkar se Samriddhi — From Vision to Ground Reality'. The conference brought together senior officers from States/UTs, Registrars of Cooperative Societies, national federations, cooperative institutions, and key stakeholders to review progress, identify ground-level challenges, and prepare a sharper roadmap for cooperative development.
Secretary Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani emphasized that the creation of the separate Ministry of Cooperation marked a defining moment in India's cooperative movement, transitioning from a regulatory framework to a development-oriented approach aimed at strengthening cooperatives as institutions of rural prosperity and inclusive growth. He highlighted that the last five years focused on strengthening Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) through computerization, adoption of model bye-laws, formation of new multipurpose PACS, dairy and fishery cooperatives, business diversification, and creation of national-level cooperatives in exports, organic products, and seeds.
Key Strategic Initiatives and Focus Areas
Dr. Bhutani stressed the need to move beyond numbers to focus on quality, accountability, professional management, and visible ground-level impact. He emphasized technology adoption, stating that cooperative banks must adopt modern technology platforms to remain relevant in the era of UPI and digital financial services, requiring common technology solutions, stronger governance systems, improved service delivery, and better financial discipline.
The Secretary highlighted sustainability and circularity initiatives in cooperative sectors including dairy, compressed biogas, and sugar by-products, noting cooperatives can convert rural waste into value, support clean energy, improve organic manure availability, and create additional income opportunities. He urged States and UTs to accelerate formation of multipurpose PACS, dairy and fishery cooperatives in uncovered Panchayats with focus on computerization, model bye-laws, and business diversification.
Infrastructure and Data Governance Enhancements
Dr. Bhutani announced that National Cooperative Database 2.0 will strengthen data-driven governance by enabling cooperatives to update and validate data directly, improving information quality for policy support and monitoring. Regarding the World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in the cooperative sector, he asked States to strengthen infrastructure creation to reduce post-harvest gaps and transform agri-infrastructure at grassroots levels.
State-Led Deliberations and Implementation Framework
The conference featured state-led deliberations where States and UTs shared best practices, successful models, innovations, and ground-level challenges. Specific discussions focused on cooperative development in North Eastern States, highlighting need for region-specific approaches, improved institutional support, and greater market linkages. National institutions including NABARD, NDDB, IFFCO, KRIBHCO, NAFED, NCCF, and NCDC shared perspectives on financing, capacity building, market support, and institutional development.
National federations were directed to prepare State-specific plans for various schemes and closely monitor implementation, ensuring national-level institutions work closely with States/UTs to support execution and resolve field-level challenges. The conference established actionable points for faster implementation and set next six-month targets across States/UTs to realize the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' and strengthen the cooperative movement nationwide.