The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the ICA Global Cooperative Conference 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. Addressing the gathering, Shri Modi welcomed the Prime Minister of Bhutan His Excellency Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji His Excellency Manoa Kamikamica, Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, Resident Coordinator of UN in India Mr Shombi Sharp, President of the International Cooperative Alliance Mr. Ariel Guarco, dignitaries of various foreign countries and ladies and gentlemen to the ICA Global Cooperative Conference 2024.
Shri Modi said this welcome was not only from him but from thousands of farmers, cattle breeders, fishermen, more than 8 lakh cooperative societies, 10 crore women associated with Self-Help Groups and youth involved in incorporating technology with cooperatives. He stated that it was the first time the Global Cooperative conference of International Cooperative Alliance was organized in India when there was an expansion of the cooperative movement in India. He expressed confidence that the future of India’s cooperative journey will get necessary insights from the Global cooperative conference. He added that in return, the global cooperative movement will receive a new spirit and latest tools of the 21st century from India’s rich experience of cooperatives. Shri Modi thanked the United Nations for declaring 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives.
Emphasising the centuries-old culture, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said, “For the world, cooperatives are a model but for India it is the basis of culture, a way of life.” Reciting verses from India’s scriptures, Shri Modi said it has been said in our Vedas that we all must walk together and speak in unison, whereas our Upanishads tell us to live peacefully, teaching us the importance of coexistence, a value which is also integral to the Indian families and similarly to that of the origin of co-operatives.
Noting that even India’s freedom struggle was inspired by the cooperatives, Shri Modi remarked that it not only gave economic empowerment but also gave a social platform for the freedom fighters. He added that the Gram Swaraj movement of Mahatma Gandhiji gave fresh impetus to community participation and started a new revolution with the help of cooperatives of Khadi and Village industries. Shri Modi was pleased that today, the cooperatives have helped Khadi and Village industries to move ahead of big brands in competition. The Prime Minister noted that Sardar Patel united the farmers using milk cooperatives and gave a new direction to the independence struggle. “AMUL, a product of India’s Independence Struggle, is one amongst the top global food brands”, exclaimed Shri Modi. He added that the co-operatives in India have travelled from idea to movement, from movement to revolution and from revolution to empowerment.
The Prime Minister said that today we are working towards making India a developed country by bringing together governance with cooperativism. “Today, India has 8 lakh co-operative committees, meaning that the world’s every fourth committee is in India,” he said, adding that their range is as diverse and wide as their numbers. Shri Modi underlined that co-operatives cover almost 98 percent of rural India. “About 30 crore (three hundred million) people, meaning one out of every five Indians is associated with the cooperative sector,” he said. Highlighting that both urban and housing cooperatives have expanded a lot in India, Shri Modi said that cooperatives play a huge role in the sugar, fertilizers, fisheries and milk production industries, adding that there are about 2 lakh (two hundred thousand) housing co-operative societies in the country. Highlighting a significant stride made in strengthening India's co-operative banking sector, Shri Modi said that over ₹12 lakh crore is now deposited in co-operative banks across the country, reflecting the growing trust in these institutions. "Our government has implemented several reforms to enhance the co-operative banking system, including bringing them under the purview of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and increasing deposit insurance coverage to ₹5 lakh per depositor," the Prime Minister stated. Shri Modi also noted the expansion of greater competitiveness and transparency, adding that these reforms have helped position Indian cooperative banks as more secure and efficient financial institutions.
“India sees a huge role of cooperatives in its future growth”, said the Prime Minister. Therefore, he added, that in the past years, the Government had worked to transform the entire ecosystem related to cooperatives through multiple reforms. He further added that the Government’s effort was to make co-operative societies multipurpose. Shri Modi remarked that the Government of India created a separate Co-operative Ministry with this goal in mind. He added that new model by-laws were legislated to make co-operative societies multipurpose. He further added that the Government had connected co-operative societies to the IT-enabled ecosystem where cooperatives are linked with Co-operative Banking Institutions at the district and state level. He noted that these cooperative societies were involved in multiple works across villages ranging from running centres providing local solutions to farmers in India, operating retail outlets of petrol and diesel, looking after the water management work and installation of solar panels. The Prime Minister remarked that with the mantra of Waste to Energy, today Co-operative Societies were also helping in the Gobardhan Scheme. He added that Co-operative Societies were now providing digital services in villages as Common Service Centres as well. He added that the Government’s effort was to strengthen the Co-operative and thereby increase the income of their members.
Shri Modi informed that the Government was forming multipurpose cooperative societies in 2 lakh villages where there was no society at present. He added that the co-operatives were being expanded from manufacturing to the service sector. “Today, India is working on the world's largest grain storage scheme in the cooperative sector”, said the Prime Minister. He added that this scheme, being executed by the cooperatives, had warehouses being built across India in which farmers could store their crops which would benefit the Small farmers the most.
Underscoring the government’s commitment to supporting small farmers through the formation of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), the Prime Minister said, “We are organizing our small farmers into FPOs and providing necessary financial assistance to strengthen these organizations.” Shri Modi highlighted that nearly 9,000 FPOs have already been established, aimed at building a robust supply and value chain for farm co-operatives, from farm to kitchen and market. “Our effort is to create a seamless link for agricultural products, leveraging modern technology to enhance efficiency,” he added. Emphasizing the role of digital platforms in revolutionizing the reach of these co-operatives, the Prime Minister said that his government is enabling co-operatives to sell their products through public e-commerce platforms like Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) which will ensure that the products reach consumers directly at the most affordable prices. Shri Modi credited the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for providing co-operatives with a new channel to expand their market presence. “These initiatives reflect the government's focus on modernizing agriculture and empowering farmers with the tools they need to thrive in a competitive, digital economy,” he added.
Highlighting that Women's participation was going to be a major factor in global growth in this century, Shri Modi said that the more the participation a country or society gives to women, the faster it will grow. He added that today was the era of Women Led Development in India and women had a big role in the Co-operative Sector as well. He further noted that today women have more than 60 percent participation with many women-led cooperatives as the strength of the Co-operative Sector of India.
“Our effort is to increase the participation of women in the management of co-operatives”, said Shri Modi. He added that the Government had amended the Multi State Co-operative Society Act in this direction and had made it mandatory to have women directors in the board of multi-state co-operative society. He further added that reservations were also made for the participation of underprivileged sections and to make the societies more inclusive.
Touching upon the massive movement of Women Empowerment through women participation, in the form of Self-Help Groups, Shri Modi noted that there were 10 crore or 100 million women of India as members of Self Help Groups. He added that the government had given cheap loans of Rs. 9 lakh crore or 9 trillion rupees to these Self Help Groups in the last decade. Shri Modi remarked that the Self Help Groups had generated huge wealth in the villages due to this. He added that this could be emulated as a mega model of women empowerment for many countries of the world.
Pressing on the need to decide the direction of the global Co-operative Movement in the 21st century, the Prime Minister said,” We will have to think of a Collaborative Financial Model to ensure easy and transparent financing for the cooperatives. Shri Modi emphasised the importance of pooling financial resources to support small and financially weak co-operatives. Such shared financial platforms can play an essential role in funding large projects and providing loans to co-operatives. He further highlighted the potential of co-operatives in enhancing the supply chain by actively participating in procurement, production and distribution processes.
Underlining the need to create global financial institutions which can finance co-operatives across the world, Shri Modi lauded ICA for its huge role and said it was imperative to to move beyond this in the future. He added that the current situation in the world presents a big opportunity for the co-operative movement. The Prime Minister stressed that there was a need to make co-operatives the flag bearer of integrity and mutual respect in the world. For this, he added there was a need to innovate policies and strategize. Underscoring the importance of making co-operatives climate resilient, Shri Modi said they should be connected to the circular economy and there was an immediate necessity to promote start-ups in cooperatives.
“India believes that co-operatives can give new energy to global cooperation”, emphasised the Prime Minister. He added that Co-operatives could help the countries of the Global South, in particular, to achieve the kind of growth they need. Therefore, he said, today it was necessary to innovate new ways for international collaboration of co-operatives and today’s Global conference could be of great assistance.
Emphasising India’s commitment to inclusive growth, the Prime Minister said, “India is the fastest growing economy today and our aim is to ensure that the benefits of this growth reach the poorest of the poor.” Shri Modi highlighted the importance of viewing growth from the human-centric perspective, both within India and globally, saying, “human-centric sentiments should prevail in all our work.” Reflecting on India’s response during the global COVID-19 crisis, he recalled how India stood with the world, especially with the countries from the Global South by sharing essential medicines and vaccines. Underscoring India’s commitment to compassion and solidarity in times of crisis, the Prime Minister said, “While economic logic might have suggested taking advantage of the situation, our sense of humanity led us to choose the path of service.”
Highlighting the importance of cooperatives was not just about the structure , rules and regulations, Shri Modi remarked that Institutions can be formed from them, which could further develop and expand. He added that the spirit of co-operatives was most important and this cooperative spirit was the life force of this movement and comes from the culture of cooperation. Citing Mahatma Gandhi that the success of co-operatives does not depend on their numbers but on the moral development of their members, Shri Modi said that when there is morality, then right decisions will be made in the interest of humanity. Concluding the address, Shri Modi expressed confidence that there will be continued work to strengthen this feeling in the International Year of Co-operatives.
Background
ICA Global Cooperative Conference and ICA General Assembly is being organised in India for the first time in the 130 year long history of International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), the premier body for the Global Cooperative movement. The Global Conference, hosted by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), in collaboration with ICA and Government of India, and Indian Cooperatives AMUL and KRIBHCO will be held from 25th to 30th November.
The theme of the conference, "Cooperatives Build Prosperity for All," aligns with the Indian Government’s vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation). The event will feature discussions, panel sessions, and workshops, addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by cooperatives worldwide in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in areas such as poverty alleviation, gender equality, and sustainable economic growth.
The Prime Minister launched the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2025, which will focus on the theme, “Cooperatives Build a Better World,” underscoring the transformative role cooperatives play in promoting social inclusion, economic empowerment, and sustainable development. The UN SDGs recognize cooperatives as crucial drivers of sustainable development, particularly in reducing inequality, promoting decent work, and alleviating poverty. The year 2025 will be a global initiative aimed at showcasing the power of cooperative enterprises in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
The Prime Minister also launched a commemorative postal stamp, symbolising India’s commitment to the cooperative movement. The stamp showcases a lotus, symbolising peace, strength, resilience, and growth, reflecting the cooperative values of sustainability and community development. The five petals of the lotus represent the five elements of nature (Panchatatva), highlighting cooperatives' commitment to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The design also incorporates sectors like agriculture, dairy, fisheries, consumer cooperatives, and housing, with a drone symbolising the role of modern technology in agriculture.
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भारत के लिए Co-Operatives संस्कृति का आधार है, जीवन शैली है। pic.twitter.com/UYTghGfgLR
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
भारत में सहकारिता ने...विचार से आंदोलन, आंदोलन से क्रांति और क्रांति से सशक्तिकरण तक का सफर किया है। pic.twitter.com/w7puajZ4q8
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
हम सहकार से समृद्धि के मंत्र पर चल रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/axqpeyJOZD
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
भारत अपनी future growth में, Co-Operatives का बहुत बड़ा रोल देखता है: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/HFgG2CSOJr
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
Co-Operative Sector में महिलाओं को बड़ी भूमिका है। pic.twitter.com/oyUstqhwZV
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
भारत का ये मानना है कि co-operative से global co-operation को नई ऊर्जा मिल सकती है: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/PC6w8xtKfi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 25, 2024
