India's first national cooperative university to end nepotism in sector, training vacuum: Amit Shah

He said the cooperatives sector in India has no dearth of talent and what the country requires now is a manpower of trained soldiers, experts and officials.

Anand: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said India's first national university for cooperatives coming up in Gujarat will work to end nepotism as only persons trained by it will get jobs in this sector in the future.

Shah was addressing a gathering at the campus of Anand Agriculture University after laying the foundation stone of Tribhuvan Sahkari University (TSU) that will be built on a 125-acre plot at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

The university has been named after the late Tribhuvandas Keshubhai Patel, one of the pioneers of the cooperative movement in India who was instrumental in laying the foundation of Amul. Born on October 22, 1903, in Kheda in Anand, Patel died on June 3, 1994.

"The upcoming university will work to address the allegations of nepotism in this sector. Unlike the past, when people were first hired and then trained, only trained people will get jobs in this sector in the future," Shah said.

The Union minister said the university will also address the existing "weaknesses" in this sector and fill the training gaps in the domain that engages every fourth person of the country, or about 30 crore people.

He said the cooperatives sector in India has no dearth of talent and what the country requires now is trained manpower.

TSU will fill this "mega vacuum" which has stopped the progress of this sector, he said.

Shah also sought to address criticism from some quarters about the upcoming university not being named after Dr Verghese Kurien, the father of the White Revolution, saying his role in the cooperatives sector can never be denied.

"Patel sahab (Tribhuvan Patel) enlightened and nurtured the cooperative movement... it was his vision that the sector is standing strong today," he said.

Shah said it was Patel who sent Kurien to study in the Netherlands, adding those "who say that Kurien's contribution to this sector was not being acknowledged were the ones who did nothing to celebrate his birth centenary".

It is Amul that is celebrating his legacy, he said.

Congress leaders who raised such questions do not know that Patel was from their party. The BJP did not even exist then, the minister said.

Shah said the TSU will not only produce a talented workforce but also leaders like Patel for the cooperatives sector.

It will also work to frame policies, undertake research and development initiatives and standardise the course material to be taught at various educational forums for cooperatives.

The minister said the university will prepare experts who will run the proposed cooperatives like taxi services, startups and digital platforms.