India signs agreement with int'l body on cooperative sector

New Delhi, Jan 18 India has signed an agreement with the International Co-Operative Alliance Asia And Pacific (ICAAP) intending to assimilate and develop further on the core strengths, experience, and institutional objectives in the interest of advancement of research, study, documentation, and training for development of the cooperative sector.

Lt Col Dr Baljit Singh who is the Chief Director, of the Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research and Development (LINAC), Gurugram under the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) signed the pact while Regional Director, ICAAP, Balasubramanian Iyer represented the other party, a release from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying said on Tuesday.

India has more than eight lakh registered cooperative societies, especially in the agricultural and agri-allied sector, banking, and housing sectors. The cooperative movement in the country has regained focus after the Central Government recently created the Ministry of Cooperation to provide a separate administrative legal and policy framework for streamlining the cooperatives.

ICAAP president Dr Chandra Pal Singh Yadav and National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) president Dileep Sanghani jointly released a policy recommendation handbook 'Sahakar Pragya: Good Practices for Cooperatives' based on a 'Brain Storming Session on International Good Practices Platform for Cooperatives' conducted earlier by LINAC, NCDC.

A compendium of guidelines, resources, methodologies, key learning, case studies of the best performing cooperatives in India and abroad and the outcome and impact, the handbook would serve as an action plan that can help these entities to achieve the goal of self-reliance.

"This handbook is expected to help cooperatives in India and abroad to innovate and adopt best models not only to stay competitive, but also distinguish themselves as successful commercial entities," the release said.

Some of the best practices are from milk, credit, and banking co-operatives in the handbook.

Yadav said, "The cooperatives have inherent advantages in tackling the problems of poverty alleviation, food security, and employment generation a path to self-reliance. This has also been reflected during the Covid-19 times."

Dileep Sanghani said: "It is heartening to note that, taking a cue from Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, NCDC-LINAC and International Co-Operative Alliance Asia And Pacific (ICAAP) have come together to set up a platform to share their wide experience and ideas for transmitting Indian good practices of cooperatives abroad and vice versa."

The consultation process for the Handbook was initiated in November 2021. International experts and other participants from across the country had deliberated on the difficulties in operating cooperatives and possible solutions to those challenges.

MD NCDC Sundeep Nayak and national president, Sahakar Bharati DN Thakur were also present at the function held at NCDC headquarters, the release added.

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