Modi govt will make every effort to solve the problems of the cooperative sector: Amit Shah

Pune, Feb 18 (Agency) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the government of Narendra Modi at the center will make every effort to solve the problems of the cooperative sector. He said that co-operatives in Maharashtra are very old because the nature of co-operative Maharashtra has been, and the state has contributed a lot in the spread of co-operatives in the whole country. Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji established a separate Ministry of Cooperation to focus on all issues of cooperation. Mr Shah who is also Cooperatives Minister today attended the closing ceremony of the two-day Cooperative Grand Conclave organized by Dainik Sakal Group in Pune, Maharashtra as the Chief Guest.

He said that 31 percent of India’s total sugar production is still from cooperative sugar mills, 16 percent of milk is purchased from cooperatives, 13 percent of wheat, 20 percent of paddy is purchased by cooperatives, 25 percent of total fertilizer production is done by cooperatives. Today it is done through cooperative societies. He said that if the rural economy does not get a big thrust of cooperation, it cannot flourish so much. Mr. Shah said that there is a huge network of Cooperative Credit Societies in our country and it has boosted the economic development of the lower strata of the country. He said that co-operatives will be the most relevant sector after the next decade.

The Union Home Minister said that the co-operative sector of Maharashtra is very large, strong and comprehensive. Out of about 8.5 lakh cooperative societies in the country, 2 lakh are in Maharashtra alone, 67 percent of the country’s residential cooperative societies are in Maharashtra, livestock societies 35 percent, Chinese cooperative societies 27 percent, marketing societies 16 percent, fish industry societies 14 percent. And 11 percent of food processing societies are in Maharashtra. Apart from this, Maharashtra has 21 percent of country’s PACs, and 32 percent of total urban banks, like 490 banks are in Maharashtra, along with 6529 bank branches in Maharashtra, which 60 percent of the country’s total branches. It means that co-operation is a great strength in Maharashtra. About 3.25 lakh crore rupees are deposited through urban cooperative banks in Maharashtra, which is 62 percent of the total urban bank deposits of the country, Mr Shah said. Shah said that Prime Minister Modi ji had formed the Ministry of Cooperatives with a big vision to further enhance the prosperity of rural, semi-urban and urban areas of the country through cooperatives.

He said that the entire country has been mapped from a cooperative perspective – developed state, developing state and underdeveloped state, and through this we have tried to find solutions to the problems of every sector. He said that once upon a time the formula for development was mass production, but in a country with a huge population like India, there is a need for unemployment and economic empowerment of people through the formula of mass production by the masses. The Union Minister of Cooperatives further said that until basic primary societies are strengthened in the country, cooperatives cannot be strengthened. He said that for this, the Narendra Modi government decided to computerize the 63000 PACs of the country. Along with this, new models of PACs have been prepared and sent to the states, in which provision has been made to make PACs multi-purpose. Modi government is trying to make PACS viable through 30 different tasks through Model Bylaws of Multidimensional PACS. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, it has been decided to make multidimensional packs (PACS) in every panchayat and now 2 lakh new packs will be made in India in 3 years, after which packs will be available in every panchayat of the country.

He said that the Government of India had decided in 2015 that we will mix 20 percent ethanol in petrol by 2025. A mid-term target of 2022 was to reach 10 per cent ethanol blending in November, 2022, but we achieved this ahead of schedule in September, which today stands at 12 per cent. He said that this has reduced our oil import by 10 percent and saved about Rs 41,500 crore in foreign exchange, which has also reduced our trade deficit and this 10 percent has gone into the pockets of the cooperative sugar mills and through them the farmers. Apart from this, Rs. 2 lakh crore for the construction of ethanol projects. Why will the investment be made and the central government will pay 6% interest through subsidy and with 10% mixing it will reduce the carbon emissions by 27 lakh tonnes and with 20% mixing these figures will be doubled. Shah said that the cooperative sector will also have to self-reflect on its performance and increase its credibility. He said that now no one can do injustice to the cooperative sector and no one can stop the growth of the cooperative sector with the formula of prosperity given by Prime Minister Modi by making the Ministry of Cooperatives.