Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has said that the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has emerged as a strong medium for empowering cooperatives and providing them with financial assistance. The Minister made these remarks while addressing the 92nd General Council meeting of the NCDC in New Delhi yesterday. Mr. Shah emphasised the need to promote the circular economy in the sugar mills and dairy sector, which will directly benefit farmers. He highlighted NCDC’s significant role in launching the country’s first cooperative taxi service, which will greatly benefit drivers. He added that the new multi-state cooperative society has been registered, and driver enrolment, along with technological development, is in progress.

 

 

The Minister said that in the last few years, NCDC’s financial assistance to cooperatives has increased nearly fourfold to over 95 thousand crore rupees. He informed that with NCDC’s assistance, more than one thousand Fish Farmers Producers Organisations-FFPOs have been strengthened. Mr Shah has said that NCDC will allocate 20 thousand crore rupees with a special focus on dairy, livestock, fisheries, and women cooperative societies.

 

 

In a statement, the Ministry of Cooperation has said that NCDC has expanded the reach of cooperation by establishing a new regional office in Vijayawada and sub-offices in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. It stated that financial assistance is being provided for purchasing trawlers for deep-sea fishing in Maharashtra and Gujarat, which has boosted the Blue Economy and economically empowered the fishing community, especially women.