Shah to launch several projects as Cooperation Ministry completes 5 years, Pg10

Key Highlights:

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will launch several projects on Monday, marking the completion of five years since the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation.
• Key initiatives include the foundation stone for 47 grain storage godowns and the inauguration of other major projects.
• A centralized core banking platform and Sahakar Sahyogi, a conversational AI-powered platform, will be launched for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).
• The Ministry aims to increase milk procurement by 50% over the next five years under White Revolution 2.0.
• Over 25,282 Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCSs) have been registered across 31 States and Union Territories as part of this initiative.
• UCBs have been granted permission to open additional branches without prior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval and offer doorstep banking services.
• Cooperative banks have also been brought under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) framework.

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Detailed Insights:

• The Ministry of Cooperation was established on July 6, 2021, with the vision of "Sahkar se Samriddhi" (Prosperity through Cooperation), aiming to strengthen the cooperative movement.
• The Ministry emphasizes cooperation with States as a crucial pillar for implementing its initiatives.
• White Revolution 2.0 is designed to expand cooperative coverage, generate employment, and empower women in the dairy sector, building on the success of the original Operation Flood.
• New multi-State cooperatives for dairy inputs and manure management have been registered to promote sustainability in the dairy sector.
• The Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited (SPCDF) was created to integrate over 20 lakh dairy farmers into an organized cooperative structure.
• Reforms for UCBs also include enabling them to provide higher-value housing loans, expanding their financial services.
• The inclusion of cooperative banks under CGTMSE facilitates collateral-free credit guarantees for loans extended to Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are being strengthened by transforming them into multi-purpose rural institutions, enhancing their role in grassroots financial inclusion.
• The transformation of 50,000 PACS into e-PACS is a significant step towards digitizing these grassroots cooperative bodies.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Ministry of Cooperation: A Union Ministry formed in 2021 to provide a dedicated administrative, legal, and policy framework for strengthening India's cooperative movement.
• White Revolution 2.0: A renewed initiative by the Ministry of Cooperation to boost milk procurement and empower women through the expansion of dairy cooperatives.
• Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs): Member-owned financial institutions operating in urban and semi-urban areas, providing banking services to their members.
• Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS): Village-level cooperative credit societies that serve as the grassroots arm of the short-term cooperative credit structure, providing financial services to farmers.
• Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE): A scheme providing credit guarantees to financial institutions for collateral-free loans extended to Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Sahakar Sahyogi: A conversational AI-powered platform launched to enhance digital services for Urban Cooperative Banks.