United Nations-designated International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025:
To mark the United Nations-designated International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) 2025, India unveiled the National Cooperation Policy 2025 to transform the cooperative sector into a people-driven economic force.
- It supports the Ministry of Cooperation’s mandate of “Sahakar se Samriddhi” by aiming to strengthen cooperatives and expand their grassroots reach.
- The policy replaces the National Policy on Cooperatives in 2002 and sets the course for cooperative growth over the next two decades (2025–2045).
- The policy aims to leverage existing government schemes such as the Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF), PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), and the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) to establish 2 lakh new multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (M-PACS) within five years.
- The policy aims to empower rural populations by making cooperatives more inclusive, focusing on Dalits, Adivasis, women, and youth, while strengthening their role in the wider economy.
- The policy pushes cooperatives to expand into over 25 sectors like dairy, fisheries, and foodgrain procurement.
- The policy promotes cooperative education via Tribhuvan Sahkari University, India’s first national cooperative university.
- The policy aims to modernise cooperatives to stay competitive in a fast-changing, tech-driven world.
- The policy sets up National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) to help cooperatives access global markets, focusing on exports like rice and wheat.
