Amit Shah to address maiden conference of cooperatives

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will address the first mega-conference of cooperatives here Saturday, and crores of people linked to these collective bodies across the world will join the programme virtually, the BJP said Friday.

Over 2,000 people associated with cooperatives will be present at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium venue of the programme, it added in a statement.

Shah, who is also the Union home minister, is likely to outline the government's vision and roadmap for the development of the sector.

This is the first Sehkarita Sammelan, or National Cooperative Conference, that Shah is scheduled to address as minister in-charge of the new Ministry of Cooperation, which was created in July this year with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

The conference is being organised by cooperative bodies IFFCO, National Cooperative Federation of India, Amul, Sahakar Bharti, NAFED, KRIBHCO, among others.

Minister of State for Cooperation B L Verma and International Cooperatives Alliance (Global) President Ariel Guarco will also be present at the event.

"This is the first big event (where) the minister will address the cooperatives and will share the government's vision and outline the roadmap for development of this sector in the country," the ministry's spokesperson had earlier told reporters.

This will be the first opportunity where the members of cooperatives will hear from the minister directly about the government's plan for the sector, the official said.

The event will see virtual participation of over 8 crore people.

Around 3 million cooperatives from 110 countries associated with the International Cooperative Alliance (Global) are also expected to join virtually, an IFFCO official said.

This conference will also play an important role in strengthening Indian cooperatives on the global stage. It will also work towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', IFFCO had earlier said in a statement.

The ministry's core mantra is to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework and streamline the processes to enable the development of Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS), it added.

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