The 49-member committee headed by former minister Suresh Prabhu working on the draft national cooperation policy has been asked to submit its report next month, keeping in mind Centre-State relations, since cooperatives are a state subject. The likely recommendations may include setting up national-level cooperatives and expansion of primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), which have already been announced by the Centre, sources said.

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah shared his inputs when panel members, including Chairman Prabhu, met him on Monday, an official statement said. As the committee was formed in September 2022, Shah asked the panel to finalise the report and submit it in July, sources said. He also advised the committee to draft the recommendations carefully, after taking inputs from stakeholders including states, central ministries, and national cooperatives, the sources said.

The current policy on cooperation was formulated in 2002; the need for a new national policy arose to deal with the changed economic scenario and to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sehkaar se Samriddhi’, the cooperation ministry said.

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“As per the guidance received from the Minister of Cooperation, the committee will prepare the revised draft,” the ministry said.

The committee members briefed Shah on the objectives, vision and mission of the draft policy, along with the key recommendations in various sectors, including structural reforms and governance, cooperatives as vibrant economic entities, level playing field for cooperatives, sources of capital and funds, inclusion of priority sections, use of technology, upskilling and training, and sustainability and implementation plan, the ministry said.

Besides Prabhu, National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) Chairman Dileep Sanghani, NABARD Chairman KV Shah, NAFCUB Chairman Jyotindra Mehta, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) Director Umakant Dash, RBI Director Satish Marathe, and VAMNICOM Director Hema Yadav were present at the meeting.

More than 500 suggestions were received from various stakeholders and the general public for the draft policy document. The committee has held more than eight meetings and consulted various stakeholders to prepare the draft document, the statement added.