What is the 'Collaboration among Cooperatives' initiative? Gujarat Govt will start in whole state

After the success of the pilot program of cooperation between cooperatives in Banaskantha and Panchmahal, the Gujarat government led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has now taken a major decision to implement it in all remaining districts of the state. By successfully utilizing this new initiative of the Government of Gujarat, more than 4 lakh new accounts have been opened by the companies and their active members in the District Co-operative Banks of these two districts. Through this, the deposit amount in cooperative banks has increased to over Rs.966 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to create synergy between the co-operative sectors of all the states of the country and give new energy and a new identity to the co-operatives in the country. Under the leadership of Union Cooperatives Minister Amit Shah, new experiments and initiatives are being taken up every day in the cooperative sector. In the same direction, the Government of Gujarat has also implemented the Sahakar initiative among cooperatives as a pilot project in two districts, which has been very successful. Talking about the importance of the achievements of cooperative sector, Gujarat Cooperative Minister Jagadish Vishwakarma said, 'A strong cooperative sector will be a strong pillar in the foundation of a developed Gujarat. This will help in realizing Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Developed India@2047'. What is the initiative of cooperative societies? In this, existing bank accounts of co-operative societies and their members operating in various commercial banks have been consolidated and brought under one centralized District Co-operative Bank/State Co-operative Bank. A number of important results are to be found by consolidating the joint capital of co-operative societies under a centralized bank. For example, deposits in centralized cooperative banks have increased significantly, financial liquidity has increased among cooperative societies, due to which credit-related needs and demands are now easily met. Also, through this initiative, it will now be ensured that other co-operatives can use the collective capital of co-operatives. Pilot project succeeds in Banaskantha and Panchmahal Between June 2023 and January 2024, Gujarat launched the initiative, conceived by Union Home and Cooperatives Minister Amit Shah, as a pilot project in Banaskantha and Panchamahal districts. During this period, existing bank accounts of 1048 milk societies affiliated to milk societies were consolidated in district central cooperative banks. And the surplus funds are fully transferred to their new bank accounts. More than 4.7 lakh new savings accounts have been opened in cooperative banks in both the districts. Due to this the current deposits of these banks have increased by more than ₹ 900 crore. More than 1600 employees were given specialized training. Under this initiative, considering the challenges faced by members in accessing financial services, more than 1631 employees associated with cooperative societies have been trained on micro ATMs, withdrawals and deposits etc. on digital transactions. To increase banking facilities and financial liquidity at the village level, a total of 1736 societies in these districts have been equipped with micro ATMs and linked as 'Bank Mitra'. Also Read- Gujarat has again won 55 percent growth by 2023-24 Besides this, under this initiative, commission rates have also been fixed for these cooperatives to generate sufficient income. This will encourage efficient use of micro ATMs. Apart from this, a total of 3.32 lakh rupees debit cards have been issued to cooperatives and active members. After the success of this pilot project in Banaskantha and Panchmahal, the state government has decided to implement it among the cooperatives of all the districts. After implementation of this initiative, District Co-operative Banks will be able to expand their services at village level. Besides, the capital of cooperative societies of Gujarat can also be utilized for carrying out financial activities of members and other small cooperative societies associated with those societies.