The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2022 was on Tuesday referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament. 

This Bill, among other things, seeks to strengthen governance, reform the electoral process, improve the monitoring mechanism, and ensure ease of doing business in multi-state cooperative societies.

It also aims to improve the composition of boards and ensure financial discipline, besides enabling the raising of funds in the multi state cooperative societies. Currently, India has over 1,500 multi-state cooperative societies. 

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution in the Lok Sabha to refer the Bill to the Joint Committee of Parliament. 

While 21 members from Lok Sabha has been appointed to the Joint Committee, the Rajya Sabha is expected to appoint 10 members.

The Committee has been tasked to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of second part of the Budget Session, 2023.

Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) in recent years have been plagued by issues regarding trust, with financial scams shaking the depositors’ trust.

They were brought under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in 2018. Also, all urban and multi-state cooperative banks were brought under the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India in 2020.

Besides proposing ‘concurrent audit’, the Bill seeks to reform the composition of the board of MSCS; proposes establishment of a Cooperative Election Authority to bring electoral reforms in the sector, and establishment of the ‘Cooperative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund’.

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