Make transparency, tech and people's welfare integral to 'work culture' of co-op sector: Shah
Shah made the remarks at the campus of Amul Dairy here while addressing an event to mark the fourth foundation day of the Ministry of Cooperation.
The minister for cooperation and home affairs also launched a newly formed multi-state cooperative body named Sardar Patel Cooperative Dairy Federation Limited and unveiled its logo. "We have to strongly implement three things. Transparency, acceptance of technology and keeping the members (farmers and societies of the cooperative sector) of cooperative institutions in the centre of all activities," he said, adding that the lack of transparency "harms" the spirit of cooperation. Without technology, there is no prosperity, and cooperation could not survive in competition, he said.
He said the ten initiatives launched during the event, including the start of a salt cooperative in Gujarat, will lead to the creation of a strong brand such as Amul. Shah said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cooperative sector has seen the registration of 2 lakh primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), the foundation of Tribhuvan Sahkari University, the first national cooperative university, and the creation of three new national cooperatives in the dairy sector. The newly launched dairy federation will work to complete a cycle of organised market, input services, fair purchase of milk, difference in price and "circular economy" in the dairy sector, he declared. Shah urged the sector to follow the five 'P's - 'people,' 'PACs,' 'platforms', 'policy' and 'prosperity' - for it to thrive. People, he said, was to mean that the citizens of the country are the beneficiaries of all these initiatives. By PACS, he meant that his government was strengthening these bodies. Platform, Shah said, was meant to provide digital and national launchpads for every type of cooperative activity, and the word policy meant providing maximum benefit to the members. The last one, prosperity, stood for "our 36 lakh sisters who work hard every day in Gujarat and 20 lakh sisters in other parts of the country." "Due to their hard work, an annual turnover of Rs 80,000 crore was achieved (by Amul), which will cross Rs 1 lakh crore the next year. This profit is directly going into the accounts of the 56 lakh sisters," he said.
The minister said four years ago on this day, Modi laid the foundation of the Ministry of Cooperation with the mantra of 'Prosperity through Cooperation,' giving a new life to the cooperative system. He said in the cooperation ministry's four years, the Centre has taken more than 60 initiatives based on these five 'P's.
Shah also paid tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on the occasion of his birth anniversary and said Kashmir would have never become an integral part of India without Mookerjee, he asserted. "Mookerjee sacrificed his life for Kashmir, raising the slogan 'Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan, aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge' (There can't be two Constitutions, two flags and two leaders in the same country)," he said. The minister said all credit goes to Mookerjee and Swami Pranavananda for West Bengal being a part of India. "Mookerjee (who was then Industry Minister) resigned from Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet in protest against the policy of appeasement. The party, Jan Sangh, which he started with 10 members, has today become the world's largest political party, as the BJP, with a membership of 12 crore people," he said. Shah also inaugurated some new infrastructure expansion projects of Amul, such as a mozzarella cheese manufacturing facility, a fully automated ultra-high processing (UHT) plant, an ultra-modern cheese warehouse in Khatraj and the extension of the Amul chocolate plant at Mogar. Amul or Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd procures over 320 lakh litres of milk daily from 36 lakh farmers and 18 member unions.
He said from milk to banking, sugar mills to marketing and cash credit to digital payments, cooperative societies today were contributing to the economic development of the country with full potential.
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