Parliament approves bill to set up Tribhuvan Sahkari University for cooperative sector

New Delhi: Parliament approved a bill to set up 'Tribhuvan Sahkari University' in Gujarat's Anand with an aim to create a qualified manpower for co-operative societies, with the Rajya Sabha giving its nod on Tuesday.

The university has been named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, who was one of the pioneers of cooperative movement in India and instrumental in laying the foundation of Amul.

The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on March 26, 2025.

Rajya Sabha passed the bill with a voice vote on Tuesday. As many as 28 members participated in the debate on the bill in the House.

Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said that more than 50 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture and there are 8 lakh institutions with which 30 crore people are related.

Mohol said that this would be the first university for the cooperative sector and fulfil the need for capacity building of manpower engaged in the sector and creating skilled professionals.

The proposed university will also address the long-pending issue of capacity building of employees and board members in the co-operative sector in a pan-India and focused manner.

The bill said it is essential that a comprehensive, integrated and standardised structure is created for education, training and research by establishing a national university to ensure a stable, adequate and quality supply of professionally qualified manpower for different categories of jobs in co-operatives such as managerial, supervisory, administrative, technical and operational.

The "Tribhuvan" Cooperative University Bill, 2025, aims to provide education and training in the cooperative sector through Tribhuvan Cooperative University, build youth capacity, establish centres of excellence offering degree programmes, distance education, and e-learning courses, and train approximately 8,00,000 individuals annually, while creating sector-specific 'Schools of Excellence' in areas like dairy and fisheries.

The "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University will ensure a steady supply of trained human resources for new initiatives, unify 284 cooperative training institutes across India, enhance the capacity of existing centres, increase long-term cooperative courses nationwide, and establish a comprehensive and integrated system for education and training in the cooperative sector.