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Cooperatives shouldn’t be political tools, says Om Birla
Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said that Cooperatives should become a vehilce for sociial and national policies instead of instruments of politics
Cooperatives should become vehicles of social and national policy instead of instruments of politics, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said on Sunday at the valedictory session of the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress in New Delhi.
“The spirit of co-operation is in our basic nature, in our thoughts and in our behaviour. The spirit of co-operation has been in the thinking of our national heroes. Our national movement is a fine example of cooperation,” Birla said. “Cooperatives should become the vehicle of social policy and national policy instead of being instruments of politics. Cooperative sector should become a model of transparency, accountability and corruption-free governance.”
The cooperative movement in India has transformed the lives of farmers and labourers by providing easier access to credit and opportunities for better employment, he said.
“Earlier, the farmer had to take a loan at 16% to 18%, but today in many states of the country, it is now possible to get a loan of ₹1 to 1.5 lakh at zero percent interest rate through cooperatives. Along with this, farmers are getting manure, seeds and fertilisers from the cooperative societies at a cheaper rate,” Birla said. “Today, small farmers who do fish farming at the village level, through cooperatives are doing many works like fish processing, fish drying, fish storage, fish canning and fish transport in an organized manner. This has increased their income, and improved their quality of life.”
Cooperative societies associated with manufacturing sectors are making Make in India a reality today, the speaker said. The sector is also playing a big role in increasing exports of our country, Birla added.
The central government has created a separate ministry for cooperatives, which has brought greater transparency and accountability in the system, he said.
The 17th Congress was held on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives, an annual celebration of the cooperative movement observed on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Cooperative Alliance.
