E-Paper
NCDC bill passed in Upper House amid Opposition walkout
The bill amends the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act, 1962, to broaden the Corporation’s mandate and enable it to extend loans and grants directly not only to cooperative societies but also to other organisations engaged in cooperative development, provided the funds are ultimately used for the benefit of cooperatives.
The Rajya Sabha passed the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, by voice vote on Wednesday, a day after the Lok Sabha approved it. Opposition parties staged a walkout before the House took up the Bill for voting.
The bill amends the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act, 1962, to broaden the Corporation’s mandate and enable it to extend loans and grants directly not only to cooperative societies but also to other organisations engaged in cooperative development, provided the funds are ultimately used for the benefit of cooperatives.
“It is proposed to enable the corporation to provide loans and grants directly to the cooperative societies or any entity engaged in cooperative development to the extent such funds are used for cooperative societies, subject to furnishing security as may be required by the corporation,” the statement of objects and reasons of the bill said.
Deep Dive
The changes come because the government believes that the cooperative sector has “expanded and diversified considerably” over the years. According to the statement of objects and reasons accompanying the bill, statutory bodies, state government agencies and other specialised organisations now provide infrastructure, technology, processing, marketing and financial services to cooperatives. As many of these organisations are not themselves registered as cooperative societies, NCDC cannot finance them directly under the existing law, resulting in “procedural delays and limited uptake” as proposals have to be routed through state governments or cooperative societies.
Replying to the debate on the bill, minister of state for cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said, “This bill does not have any provision for additional budgetary financial assistance by the government. The proposed amendment only expands the mandate and financial scope of NCDC”.
Besides widening the funding net, the bill also seeks to expand the definition of foodstuffs to include additional food items notified by the Centre, removes geographical restrictions on financing industrial goods, updates obsolete statutory references, empowers the corporation to collect and share credit information with banks and other financial institutions, and grants it incidental powers to carry out its functions more effectively.
The bill also authorises NCDC to acquire equity in entities engaged in cooperative development, subject to prior approval of the Centre.
(With inputs from PTI)
