Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired a high-level review meeting on May 3, 2025, in New Delhi to assess the progress of three key cooperative institutions—National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Ltd (BBSSL).
These institutions, established in 2023, play a crucial role in boosting cooperative exports, promoting organic farming, and strengthening India’s seed ecosystem. Shah emphasized that these initiatives are being implemented using a “Whole of the Government” approach, ensuring synergy among various ministries and departments.
Focusing on NCEL, Amit Shah set an ambitious export target of Rs 2 lakh crore and instructed the organization to expand exports of products such as sugar from cooperative sugar mills, Tripura’s aromatic rice, organic cotton, and coarse grains.
He also asked NCEL to identify three new and unique products that are not currently being exported from India. The Minister proposed strategic partnerships with major companies to export fresh vegetables and special potato varieties to Gulf countries.
Shah emphasized the need to route all cooperative exports through NCEL to achieve a turnover of Rs 20,000–30,000 crore, ensuring that profits can be reinvested back into cooperatives. NCEL has already made significant progress, granting membership to over 10,000 cooperatives, reaching a turnover of Rs 4,283 crore, and posting a profit of Rs 122 crore in FY 2024–25. It has expanded exports to 28 countries and signed agreements with 61 importers across Senegal, Indonesia, and Nepal.
For NCOL, Shah noted the growing presence of the 'Bharat Organics' brand, which supplies to brands like Amul and Bigbasket and will soon be available at Reliance stores. Shah directed NCOL to target a turnover exceeding Rs 300 crore in FY 2025–26 and to mobilize certified organic farmer groups across states.
NCOL, which is in its first year of operations, has already enrolled more than 7,000 cooperatives and sourced over 1,200 metric tonnes of organic products from over 2,000 farmers, generating Rs 10.26 crore in turnover. Shah appreciated its focus on authenticity, with each product batch tested for pesticide residues and results shared with consumers through QR codes.
Regarding BBSSL, Shah reiterated its vital role in transforming India’s seed ecosystem. He emphasized the need to develop high-yielding, short-maturity, and drought-resistant varieties of crops like pigeon pea (tur), black gram (urad), and maize through the newly established BBSSL Centre in Kalol, Gujarat.
He also called for the development of sugarcane varieties with high sugar content and low water requirements and stressed the need to build a tissue culture facility to supply genetically superior banana plants to the top 10 banana-producing states.
Shah urged BBSSL to produce specialized seeds, such as processing varieties of potato, especially for French fries, and Lachka fodder crops to be distributed through networks like NDDB and Amul.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Cooperation, including the Managing Directors of NCEL, NCOL, and BBSSL.
