Cooperation Minister of Maharashtra Subhash Deshmukh, in his own views, seems to have hit upon a novel plan for reviving cooperatives in the state. In an interview given to BusinessLine, the Minister talks of selling corporate products by the wide network of cooperatives.
At least 5,000 cooperative bodies and institutions in the State could be revived by the end this calendar year with the help of India Corporate, claims Deshmukh.
There are over 22,000 cooperative bodies and 4 lakh women self-help groups but most are in dire financial conditions, Deshmukh says only a few are running successfully.
Deshmukh wants wants to leverage the cooperatives to sell the products of various corporates at the village level. Minister also claims that companies such as Royal Agro, BVG and the Mahindra Group are already in talks with the Maharashtra Cooperation Department for taking the process ahead.