India Emerges as a Global Cooperative Powerhouse

Context

The United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). This global recognition coincides with India’s rise as a cooperative leader, boasting over 8.5 lakh registered societies and a strategic shift toward “Sahkar Se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation).

About the News

Key Data and Statistics:

Global Scale: India accounts for approximately 27% of all cooperatives worldwide, representing one of the largest organized economic networks.
Membership: As of late 2025, there are nearly 32 crore members, covering roughly 98% of rural India across 30 sectors.
Functional Strength: Of the 8.5 lakh societies, 6.6 lakh are fully operational, including 80,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
Financial Inclusion: 1,457 urban cooperative banks hold assets worth ₹7.38 trillion (as of March 2025).
Women Empowerment: Nearly 10 crore women have been integrated into the organized economy through links with Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Importance of Cooperatives in India

Grassroots Credit Access: Provides essential liquidity to farmers; PACS are being computerized to link directly with NABARD for transparent credit flow.
Market Integration: Aggregates small-scale produce to enhance bargaining power (e.g., Amul connecting millions of milk producers to global supply chains).
Food Security: Decentralizing storage to reduce post-harvest losses via the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan.
Sustainable Livelihoods: Promoting organic farming and allied activities through entities like National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL).
Affordable Service Delivery: Over 800 PACS now operate as Janaushadhi Kendras, providing low-cost medicines to rural residents.

Key Initiatives Taken

Digitalization & ERP: A ₹2,925 crore project to computerize PACS using a common national software available in 14 languages.
Apex Multi-State Societies: Creation of three national bodies: NCEL (Exports), NCOL (Organics), and BBSSL (Seeds).
White Revolution 2.0: A plan to increase milk procurement by 50% in five years by establishing 20,070 new Dairy Cooperative Societies.
Legislative Reforms: Reducing the cooperative surcharge from 12% to 7% and enabling PACS to undertake over 25 new business activities.

Success and Global Competitiveness

Global Rankings: 15 Indian entities currently feature in the Global Top 300 rankings based on turnover and impact.
Export Penetration: The National Co-operative Exports Limited (NCEL) recently exported 13.77 LMT of commodities worth over ₹5,500 crore to 28 countries.
Digital Transparency: Transition from manual ledgers to digital systems has processed over 34 crore transactions digitally across 60,000 PACS.
Social Inclusivity: The NCDC has disbursed over ₹95,000 crore, with schemes like Nandini Sahakar specifically targeting women-led cooperatives.

Challenges

Regional Imbalance: Cooperative growth is concentrated in states like Maharashtra (2.21 lakh societies), while North-Eastern states face low density.
Infrastructure Gaps: Many primary societies lack modern hardware or sufficient storage capacity for national produce.
Operational Inefficiency: Issues like nepotism ("Uncle Judge Syndrome") and a lack of professional management persist in older societies.
Financial Constraints: High levels of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and limited capital for technology adoption in Urban Cooperative Banks.

Way Forward

Universal Professionalization: Establishing Tribhuvan Sahkari University to create a cadre of professionally trained managers.
Pan-India Expansion: Replicating the successful Gujarat and Maharashtra models in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions.
Technological Deepening: Integrating AI and Blockchain into the National Cooperative Database for fraud-proof auditing.
Credit-Plus Services: Transforming all functional PACS into Multi-Service Centers to diversify revenue streams.
Global Brand Building: Aggressively scaling the “Bharat” brand for seeds and organics to capture high-value export markets.

Conclusion

India’s cooperative sector has evolved into a vital economic pillar, supporting a quarter of the world's cooperatives. By balancing digital reform with grassroots empowerment, India offers a global model for inclusive, collective-led development during the International Year of Cooperatives.

India Emerges as a Global Cooperative Powerhouse