Maharashtra govt to revive cooperative education fund to strengthen sector: Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday announced that the state government will revive the cooperative education fund within a month to foster a new generation of skilled workers and further strengthen the state's cooperative network.

Speaking at a Maharashtra State Cooperative Union event, Fadnavis stressed that investing in human resources is vital to sustaining the cooperative movement, and highlighted the Centre's recent policy reforms aimed at tripling the sector's contribution to the national GDP.

Maharashtra to revive cooperative education fund

Maharashtra remains the strongest cooperative state, with over two lakh cooperative societies and the highest penetration of the cooperative movement, he said. The government would soon restart the education fund, which had been discontinued earlier, to create trained workers for the cooperative sector, the chief minister said, emphasising that strengthening human resources is essential to sustain the movement.

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Praising the Union government's initiatives, he mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recognition of the cooperative movement's strength by establishing a separate Ministry of Cooperation in 2021. He pointed out that Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has introduced several reforms, including a new National Cooperation Policy aimed at tripling the cooperative sector's contribution to India's GDP over the next two decades.

Centre digitises 63,000 PACS

Fadnavis noted that the Centre has digitised about 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), decided to establish two lakh new ones in five years, and expanded their activities by enabling them to undertake 17 different types of businesses. Financial support through the National Cooperative Development Corporation has also been provided to strengthen rural cooperatives, he added.

He further stated that new national cooperative institutions, such as the National Cooperative Exports Limited, National Cooperative Organics Limited, and the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti, have been created to enhance agricultural exports, promote organic farming, and ensure a quality seed supply to farmers.

He highlighted the creation of an umbrella organisation for cooperative banks and a national cooperative university to develop skilled manpower. Referring to the housing sector, the chief minister explained that the state has established a separate legal framework for cooperative housing societies and implemented a self-redevelopment policy based on an expert committee's recommendations.

He stated that this scheme has allowed thousands of housing societies to redevelop their buildings independently of private developers, enabling many residents to move from small apartments to larger homes. Around 1,600 self-redevelopment projects have already been registered, he said, urging cooperative banks to finance more such projects.

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The chief minister also assured that changes would be made to remove hurdles caused by the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), especially in Pune, and that the benefits of self-redevelopment would be extended across the state.

Cooperative banks key to credit access for small farmers

Highlighting the crucial role of cooperatives in financial inclusion, Fadnavis explained that district cooperative banks continue to provide the largest share of credit to small and marginal farmers because they are directly accountable to members through democratic elections. He criticised many commercial and nationalised banks for merely fulfilling lending targets by extending loans to larger borrowers.

Fadnavis stressed that cooperatives must remain disciplined, transparent, and accountable, warning that institutions that neglected financial discipline harmed themselves and depositors. He announced that a meeting would be convened immediately after the ongoing assembly session to address pending demands from the sector.