Cooperatives in India have gone beyond their traditional boundaries and are now a medium for innovation and self-reliance in areas such as digital services, energy and financial inclusion, Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah told the UN.
Shah delivered a pre-recorded video message on Monday at a special commemorative event on ‘Cooperatives and Sustainable Development: Maintaining momentum and exploring new avenues’.
“In India, cooperation is a vibrant and community-driven system that envelopes every sector - from agriculture to finance, from consumption to construction, and from rural empowerment to digital inclusion through mutual collaboration and democratic participation,” Shah said.
"Its unique strength lies in the fact that it delivers benefits at the local level while also becoming a powerful medium for providing dignified livelihoods in rural and underdeveloped areas.” Shah said the event’s theme reflects that the idea of cooperation is not only relevant in today's modern world but is also essential for sustainable and inclusive development.
“In India, cooperatives have now gone beyond their traditional boundaries and have become a medium for innovation and self-reliance in areas such as digital services, healthcare, education, energy, organic farming, and financial inclusion,” he said.
Shah said that technological innovation is making cooperatives more inclusive today.
The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Kenya and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations, organised the event to mark the International Year of Cooperatives 2025 at the United Nations Headquarters.
Shah voiced his firm belief that the principles of cooperatives, their values, and their people-centric approach make them one of the most impactful models of human-centred development.
The Ministry of Cooperation was established in July 2021, and Shah became the first Minister of Cooperation of the country.
He said the setting up of the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 has proven to be a historic and decisive step.
Today, over 840,000 cooperative societies in the country have more than 320 million members actively engaged. With a view to make cooperative products globally competitive, India has set up three multi-state cooperative societies - Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited (BBSSL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) and National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL).
The objectives of these societies are to provide farmers with direct access to global markets, quality inputs, branding, marketing and a fair share in export profits.
"These institutions represent powerful steps toward transforming producers from local to global,” Shah said at the event, which was attended by representatives of UN member states, UN agencies, senior government officials, cooperative leaders, and other key stakeholders from around the world.
“Cooperation is laying a strong foundation of service, self-reliance, employment, and innovation, ensuring that every Indian becomes both a participant in and beneficiary of development. This model is offering a clear and strong identity to India's concept of inclusive development on the global stage,” he said.
Shah pointed out that India has recently established the Tribhuvan Sahkari University, which will serve as a hub for education, research, innovation, and leadership development at the national level in the cooperative sector.
Alongside this, the formulation of the National Cooperation Policy marks a historic step toward making the cooperative movement more transparent, accountable, and future-oriented, he said.
He further noted that India's world-largest grain storage plan is being implemented through cooperatives, emphasising that this initiative not only strengthens food security but also ensures organised markets and increased prices for farmers. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish highlighted the vital role played by the cooperative sector in India’s national growth.
Noting the steps taken by the Government of India to strengthen the cooperative sector, including the National Cooperative Policy 2025-45, he stressed the need to use new and emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, to make cooperatives more effective and capable of facing emerging new challenges.
Managing Director of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) Deepak Agarwal gave a detailed presentation on the Indian cooperative sector, highlighting the spirit of collaboration and shared ownership, a press release issued by the Indian mission said.
