Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will attend the fifth Foundation Day celebrations of the Ministry of Cooperation at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today, where he is set to launch and inaugurate a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperative sector.
The event will be held in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Sahakar Se Samriddhi”. According to the Ministry, Shah will transfer 135 grain storage godowns, inaugurate 85 godowns and lay the foundation stone for 47 more under the World’s Largest Grain Storage Scheme.
He will also perform the Bhoomi Pujan for ‘Sahakar Van’, a 64-acre cooperative afforestation project by Amul and the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF), besides laying the foundation stone for tissue culture facilities of Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and Jalgaon in Maharashtra.
Among the major digital initiatives to be launched are NCD 3.0, a geo-tag mobile application and the National Dairy Development Board’s Milk Supply Review Dashboard Portal. Shah will also unveil Sahakar CBS, a centralised core banking platform, and Sahakar Sahyogi, a conversational AI-powered platform for Urban Cooperative Banks, developed by the National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC).
Another key highlight of the programme will be the launch of the initiative to transform 50,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) into e-PACS as part of the government’s push for digital empowerment of grassroots cooperative institutions.
Shah will also inaugurate the Cooperative Milk Producers Organisation Multi-State Limited and Gomay Cooperative Society Multi-State Limited. During the programme, a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between BBSSL and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to strengthen seed systems. He will also release model bye-laws for dairy cooperative societies and a book highlighting the Ministry’s achievements over the past five years.
Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Ministers of State for Cooperation Krishan Pal Gurjar and Murlidhar Mohol, senior government officials and representatives of cooperative institutions, banks, dairy cooperatives, PACS and other stakeholders are expected to attend the event.
According to the ministry, the ceremony will reaffirm its commitment to building a technology-driven and inclusive cooperative ecosystem that connects farmers, women, youth, dairy producers, urban cooperatives and rural institutions with the vision of “Sahakar Se Samriddhi” and a developed, self-reliant India.
