Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that under the “Cooperation among Cooperatives” initiative of the Ministry of Cooperative, 9 lakh new accounts have been opened so far and deposits of Rs 4,000 crore have increased in the cooperative banks of Gujarat.
He said while addressing a National Conference on Thursday at ICAR, PUSA, New Delhi.
On this occasion, Shah highlighted the success of the “Cooperation among Cooperatives” initiative. He revealed that the program, which has already shown promising results in Gujarat’s Panchmahal and Banaskantha districts, is now set to be expanded nationwide.
Shah shared that over 4 lakh bank accounts have been opened in these two districts alone, with deposits exceeding Rs 550 crore. Furthermore, to empower women, debit and credit cards were issued to members of Primary Cooperative Societies and Milk Producers Co-ops.
As part of this effort, 1,732 micro ATMs have been installed and 20,000 new credit cards issued, resulting in digital transactions worth Rs 24 lakh.
Shah further emphasized that although the initiative is still in progress across Gujarat, it has already led to the opening of over 9 lakh accounts, boosting deposits in cooperative banks by Rs 4,000 crore. A total of 2,600 micro ATMs have been distributed so far.
Encouraged by the success, Shah announced plans to take the initiative to a national level, aiming to strengthen the cooperative framework across the country and bolster financial inclusion in rural areas.