The chairman of Maharashtra Urban Cooperative Bank Federation, Vidyadhar Anaskar has submitted his idea of new National Co-operative Policy after the Cooperation Ministry began seeking stakeholders’ input on the issue.
Anaskar says the National Co-operative Policy should be such as to preserve the Co- operative Principles, adding the recent amendments introduced in the Banking Regulation Act in the year 2020, are adversely affecting the Co-operative and Principles and Culture of Co-operative Banks.
Next, he advocates setting up a ‘Central University for Co-operation’ which will run courses and undertake research projects on co-operation. Some courses and research projects could dwell on history, contemporary social and technological challenges, behavioural economics and social dynamics, he underlined. The Proposed University of Co-operation can develop curricula and syllabi to be followed by students.
Saying there are varieties of co-ops in the country– some in business and others in non-economic activities, Anaskar says the new national policy should ensure financial discipline in co-ops engaged in business activities.
Demanding creation of Co-operation Mutual Fund, he says the issue of liquidity crisis faced by the Co-operatives can be met by the creation of a Co-operative Mutual Assistance Corpus in each field of the Co- operative segment to provide timely help to the needy Co-operatives.The fund should have contribution in some ratio by the Central as well as State Governments, he adds.
The proposed policy should give due consideration to the need of setting up of ADR exclusively for the Co-operative Sector so that amicable settlement of disputes amongst the members or between members and the Co-operative Societies is possible. He also talks of setting up of Co-operative Tribunals and separate Bench of High Court in each State.
Talking on the need for the co-ops to be apolitical, Anaskar says co-operatives should be free from politics and there should be Special Incentives and Schemes for Co-operatives in neglected sectors.
There are 1051 multi-state co-operative societies across the country, of which 62 are Co-operative Banks and 473 are Credit Co-operative Societies i.e. more than 50% societies are engaged in providing credit facilities to its members.
Anaskar also demanded support to co-ops in the form of low taxes, rate of interest, grant of subsidies, incentives, introducing innovative schemes etc. He also expects Co-op Registrars to perform developmental roles for co-ops as per Constitutional provisions.
Other issues touched by Anaskar longish letter includes Uniform Law for co-ops, Profit Sharing by directors of Co-operatives, Reduction in Stamp duty, Preference to the Co-operatives in govt tenders and UCBs be permitted to act as an Agency banks and handle any Central/State government business at par with other peer banks.
Anaskar also talks of Secrecy of UCBs and says the RTI Act is not applicable to Co-operatives yet alternate processes of deliberation and decision making need to be evolved to guard secrecy and confidentiality, particularly in the fields of credit and banking.