Author: SahkarNet

The Madras High Court has ruled that cooperative societies in Tamil Nadu are not required to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, as they do not qualify as public authorities. Justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan stated in his order, “A cooperative society registered under the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act is not bound by the RTI Act to provide information requested by a citizen. The cooperative society does not fall within the definition of public authority as defined under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.” What happened? This decision nullified an order from the State Information Commissioner…

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revoked the license of Purvanchal Co-operative Bank Ltd., Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, effective from the close of business on June 15, 2024. This decision means the bank can no longer conduct banking operations. The RBI cited several reasons for the cancellation: Following the license cancellation, Purvanchal Co-operative Bank Ltd. is prohibited from conducting any banking activities, including accepting and repaying deposits, as defined under Section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Uttar Pradesh has been asked to initiate the bank’s liquidation and appoint…

Muralidhar Mohol, the newly appointed Union Minister of State for Cooperation and Aviation, yesterday visited the Vaikunth Mehta Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM) in Pune after assuming his new role. He paid tribute to Vaikunth Mehta’s rich legacy and contributions in the field of cooperation by garlanding his statue. Dr. Hema Yadav, Director, VAMNICOM made a presentation before the Minister, detailing VAMNICOM’s activities and highlighting the work of its seven centers and various training programs initiated since the formation of the Ministry of Cooperation. She noted the long-standing success of the Post Graduation Diploma in Management – Agri Business Management…

Pune — The President of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF), Harshvardhan Patil, has made a compelling case for raising the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar to Rs 42 per kg. This call comes as the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane has been consistently increasing each year, leading to a rise in the production costs of sugar. National Cooperative Sugar Federation has formally submitted this proposal, supported by detailed statistical data, to the central government. The announcement was made following a joint meeting in Pune involving NFCSF officials, Directors of the Union Food and Cooperation…

Union Home Minister Amit Shah assumed his role as the Minister of Cooperation on Tuesday, pledging to strengthen the cooperative sector by effectively implementing grass root-level policies. Krishan Pal, MP from Haryana’s Faridabad, and Murlidhar Mohol, MP from Pune, have been appointed as his two deputies. Shah, a two-time MP from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, has held the cooperation portfolio since July 2021, when the ministry was first established. “We laid the groundwork for the development of the cooperative sector in our previous term. In the next five years, our focus will be on ensuring these policies reach the grassroots,” Shah emphasized,…

Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and IDMC Ltd, along with Mr. Kenichiro Toyofuku, Director of Suzuki R&D Center India Pvt Ltd (SRDI), flagged off a Mobile Milk Collection & Cooling System in Anand, Gujarat on Thursday. The event was attended by Executive Directors of NDDB, Shri Sangram Chaudhary, Managing Director of Banas Dairy, and Shri Prakash Maheshwari, Managing Director of IDMC Ltd. System Development & Benefits to Farmers Dr. Shah highlighted that the NDDB conceptualized this innovative system in collaboration with SRDI, with the development executed by NDDB’s wholly-owned subsidiary, IDMC Limited. He emphasized…

A recent dialogue addressing the systemic issues of poor electricity supply to farmers in Rajasthan has recommended the establishment of a cooperative-based distribution model. This model aims to improve the power supply for agricultural consumers and ensure regulatory compliance under the Electricity Act, 2003. The event highlighted the critical need for regulatory responsibility in enhancing electricity supply to the farming sector. Organized by the Center for Energy, Environment and People (CEEP) as part of its ‘Vidyut Samvad’ series, the dialogue focused on understanding the complexities of electricity supply and exploring technical and financial solutions within the power sector. A survey…

The National Level Coordination Committee (NLCC) for the world’s largest grain storage plan held its inaugural meeting on Monday at the Ministry of Cooperation in New Delhi. The World’s largest grain storage plan envisages to transform PACS into Multi-Service Societies. The pilot project has already been implemented in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and Telangana. The meeting was attended by Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation, along with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Food and Public Distribution, and Food Processing Industries, as well…

Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman of NDDB and NDDB Dairy Services, along with Shri AV Dharma Reddy, Executive Officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Shri S Regupathi, Executive Director of NDDB, Dr. CP Devanand, MD of NDDB Dairy Services, and Shri Thimappa Sura, MD of Shreeja Mahila Milk Producer Company Limited, held a meeting in Tirupati. The meeting’s primary focus was the protection and promotion of indigenous cattle breeds. Discussions covered enhancing testing infrastructure, genetic purity testing, disease diagnosis, and the use of advanced reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer to accelerate genetic improvement in indigenous breeds. A…

Sugar cooperatives have long been central to the political landscape of Maharashtra, with influential figures like former Chief Ministers Vasantdada Patil, S B Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan etc. all having strong ties to the cooperative sugar industry. Same was the case with most of the Ministers. However these cooperative mills have continued to maintain their pivotal role in Maharashtra elections even now, especially in the ongoing Lok Sabha election 2024 and upcoming assembly elections in late 2024. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah raised questions about the closure of numerous cooperative sugar mills in Maharashtra, directing his scrutiny at…