Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will announce the National Cooperative Policy 2025 on July 24 at Atal Akshay Urja Bhawan in New Delhi. The policy, seen as a major reform initiative, is expected to guide India’s cooperative movement for the next two decades, from 2025 to 2045.
According to the Ministry of Cooperation, the new policy has been formulated with the aim of modernizing the sector and aligning it with the vision of "Prosperity through Cooperation (Sahkar se Samriddhi)." It will serve as a roadmap to boost grassroots-level development and enhance the role of cooperatives in achieving the goal of "Viksit Bharat 2047."
India’s first National Cooperative Policy was introduced in 2002, providing a basic framework for managing the economic activities of cooperative institutions. However, the world has undergone significant transformations since then, including globalization and rapid technological advancements. In light of these changes, government has formulated a new cooperative policy aimed at redefining and modernizing the sector to ensure its continued relevance, effectiveness, and contribution to the country’s economic growth.
The new policy aims to make cooperative institutions more inclusive, professionally managed, and future-ready. A key objective is to generate large-scale employment and livelihood opportunities, particularly in rural areas.
A 48-member committee, chaired by former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu, has prepared the new Policy. The committee included representatives from all levels of cooperative societies, national and state cooperative federations, government ministries, and academic institutions.
To ensure the policy reflects real needs and challenges, the committee conducted 17 meetings and organized four regional workshops in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Patna. It also received 648 suggestions from stakeholders, which were carefully reviewed and incorporated into the final draft.
The policy is expected to bring structural changes to the cooperative ecosystem, promoting innovation, transparency, and sustainability. It will also help redefine the role of cooperatives in rural development and employment generation.
The launch event will be attended by members of the drafting committee, Chairmen and Managing Directors of national cooperative unions, and senior officials from the Ministry of Cooperation, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), National Council of Cooperative Training (NCCT), and Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM).
