Centre to bring new cooperative policy soon: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the government will bring a new cooperative policy with suitable changes, the new policy will be implemented by the end of this year.

Addressing the first Cooperative conference here, he said that the cooperative sector needs to be strengthened and all important units in the entire network will soon be computerised.

"Many people say that cooperative is state subject but I must tell you that we will not have any confrontation with the states and will be working with them in poverty amelioration and help them in the matter of cooperatives", Shah said.

He also said that all Pax, district cooperative banks, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and other important financial institutions will be revamped with a new software system.

The Minister also announced that a new cooperative will be created for the fishermen in the country which will help them in their business in many ways.

Noting that the Cooperative credit facility has to be made more liberalised, Shah further said many people in this country do not get small loans from banks or financial institutions as they do not have any paper or something to mortgage, these cooperative institutions will address their concern.

He also said that cooperative sector will have major role in achieving the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of five trillion dollar economy by 2025 and after creating a new Ministry, nobody will be able to do injustice to this sector.

He also urged the representatives of the various cooperative federations to make this sector successful, training, skill development and transparency was required for filling in posts and appointing office bearers.

Shah also said that creating the Ministry of Cooperation was the need of the hour and this will develop and make the poor, farmers, women and downtrodden of the society.

The PM Modi's mantra of 'sahkar se samridhi' (prosperity from cooperation) will play an important role in poverty alleviation in rural India.

The Minister also attacked the critics who say that the days of the cooperatives are over. Referring to the example of Amul Cooperative, Shah further said that it was created on the vision of Sardar Patel with only 80 farmers in 1946 and now its turnover has been over Rs 53,000 crore per annum.