Private Business cannot by themselves take the Make In India scheme to the heights it aims to attain, in this era of intense competition from global industries with heavy capital. India needs the cooperative sector to play a part in this, and also in making India a USD 5 trillion global economy. In regards to strengthening cooperatives and SMEs, PM Modi said that the GeM portal had brought transparency, efficiency and low costs in the public procurement process. The strength of cooperatives, especially women working in them, can be seen through how Lijjat Papad and Amul have become globally renowned brands,” Prime Minister further said. With this objective, Government created the new Ministry of Cooperation to provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for encouraging cooperative based economic model in the country. India has a room for successful cooperative movement in this sector.

Shri Amit Shah said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given new momentum and long life to the cooperative movement by creating a separate ‘Ministry of Cooperation’ in the country. He said that out of 30 lakh cooperatives in the whole world, 9 lakh cooperatives are in India only. About 91 percent of India’s population is linked to a cooperative in one way or another, with cooperatives covering 70 percent of the country’s farmers through PACS. He said that there are 33 state level cooperative banks, 363 district level cooperative banks and 63,000 PACS in the country. Shri Shah said that today 19 percent of our agriculture finance is done through cooperative societies. 35 percent fertilizer distribution, 30 percent fertilizer production, 40 percent sugar production, 13 percent procurement of wheat and 20 percent of paddy procurement is done by cooperatives only.