‘Historic’: Govt creates new ministry of co-operation ahead of reshuffle buzz

The ministry of co-operation will work to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives and enable development of Multi-State Co-operatives, a government statement said.

New Delhi: Ahead of a much-speculated cabinet reshuffle, the Union government on Tuesday announced the creation of a new ministry of co-operation to focus on strengthening the cooperative movement in the country

In a historic move, a separate ‘ministry of co-operation’ has been created by the Narendra Modi government to realize the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’, a government statement issued late on Tuesday said. (ANI)

An official statement described the creation of a new ministry as “a historic move” by the Narendra Modi government to realise the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ (prosperity through cooperatives).

It signals the government’s deep commitment to community-based development partnership and fulfils the budget announcement made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the statement said, a reference to the minister’s budget announcement earlier this year.

In her February 1 speech, Sitharaman proposed to set up a separate administrative structure to “streamline ease of doing business for cooperatives”.

Tuesday’s statement added that “a co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility”.

Commerce and railways minister Piyush Goyal called the decision was “another visionary step” that will give a massive boost to co-operative movement and create a true people’s momentum for development.

RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd which markets Amul brand of milk and dairy products, welcomed the creation of the new ministry.

"It's a revolutionary step by @PMOIndia recognising the role cooperatives can play in creating big businesses by small holders/farmers /workers/traders," Sodhi tweeted.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Union social justice minister Gehlot as the governor of Karnataka, former Gujarat minister Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel as the governor of Madhya Pradesh, BJP MP Hari Babu Kambhampati as the governor of Mizoram, and former Goa minister Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as the governor of Himachal Pradesh.

The appointments came as senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies flew into the Capital ahead of a possible Cabinet reshuffle, the first since Narendra Modi swept back to power with an increased majority in 2019.

A cabinet meeting is likely to be held at 11am on Wednesday and the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers is scheduled for 6pm, said people aware of developments.