Gujarat government to launch ‘Cooperation among cooperatives’ initiative in all districts

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel

After the success of the pilot project ‘Cooperation among Cooperative Institutions’ in Banaskantha and Panchmahal, the Gujarat government led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has now taken an important decision to implement it in all the remaining districts of the state. It is noteworthy that with the successful implementation of this new initiative of the Gujarat government, more than 4 lakh new accounts were opened by cooperative institutions and their active members in the district cooperative banks of these two districts, resulting in an increase of more than Rs 966 crore in deposits in cooperative banks.

Co-operative institutions got a new energy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to give a new energy and a new identity to the cooperative institutions working in the cooperative sector in the country by creating coordination among the cooperative sectors of all the states of the country. Under the guidance of Union Cooperative Minister Amit Shah, new experiments and initiatives are being done in the cooperative sector every day. In this direction, the Gujarat government also implemented the ‘Cooperation among Cooperative Institutions’ initiative as a pilot project in two districts, which has been very successful. Speaking about the importance of the achievements of the cooperative sector, Gujarat’s Cooperative Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma said – “A strong cooperative sector can prove to be a strong pillar in the foundation of “Developed Gujarat”, which will prove to be helpful in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Developed India @ 2047”.

What is the ‘Cooperatives among Cooperatives’ initiative

This initiative aims to enhance synergy among thousands of cooperative societies in Gujarat by centralizing their bank accounts and deposits under the aegis of District and State Cooperative Banks. It consolidates the existing bank accounts of cooperative societies and their members in various commercial banks and brings them under a centralized District Cooperative Bank/State Cooperative Bank. Consolidation of the collective capital of cooperative societies under a centralized bank has yielded several significant results. For example, the deposits of the centralized cooperative bank have increased significantly, financial liquidity among cooperative societies has increased, which will now help in meeting loan related requirements and demands easily. Also, this initiative will now ensure that the collective capital of cooperative societies can be used by other cooperative societies as well.

The pilot project was successful in Banaskantha and Panchmahal

Between June 2023 and January 2024, Gujarat launched this initiative, conceptualised by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, as a pilot project in Banaskantha and Panchmahal districts. During this period, the existing bank accounts of 1048 milk societies affiliated to milk unions were consolidated in District Central Cooperative Banks and surplus funds were fully transferred to their new bank accounts. More than 4.7 lakh new savings accounts were opened in the cooperative banks of both the districts, leading to a massive increase of more than ₹ 900 crore in the existing deposits of these banks.

Special training given to more than 1600 employees

Under this initiative, keeping in mind the challenges faced by members in accessing financial services, more than 1631 employees associated with cooperative societies have been given special training on digital transactions including operation of micro-ATMs, cash withdrawal and deposits. It is noteworthy that to increase banking facilities and financial liquidity at the village level, a total of 1736 societies in these districts have been equipped with micro-ATMs and have been associated as “Bank Mitra”. Apart from this, under this initiative, commission rates have also been fixed to enable these cooperative institutions to earn adequate income, which will encourage effective use of micro-ATMs. Not only this, a total of 3.32 lakh RuPay debit cards have also been issued to cooperative institutions and active members.

The model will be implemented all over Gujarat

After the success of this pilot project in Banaskantha and Panchmahal, the state government has decided to implement it among the cooperative institutions of all the districts. After the implementation of this initiative, the district cooperative banks will be able to expand their services at the village level and will ensure that the capital of the cooperative institutions of Gujarat can also be used to carry out the financial activities of the members associated with those institutions and other small cooperative institutions.