The Regional Workshop for Eastern & North East Zone (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim) was organized at Gyan Bhawan, N Gandhi Maidan Rd, Patna 25th November, 2023.
In total 90 participants (Registrar Cooperative Societies Members, Officers of State Cooperative Federations Banks, UCBs, DCCBs from States (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim) of Eastern & North East Zone participated in the workshop in hybrid mode.
Suresh Prabhu, Chairman, National Cooperation Policy Committee & Ex-Union Minister, Government of India addressed the workshop about the New Cooperation Policy 2023, their provisions, approach and process followed in drafting the policy. He assured all the Stakeholders and States that the Govt. of India is open to incorporate all valuable suggestions for inclusion in the policy.
The Additional Chief Secretary, Dipak Kumar Singh, I.A.S. Cooperative Department, Govt. of Bihar emphasised that States must be given autonomy to set the financial parameters towards ranking cooperative institutions. He further suggested that while considering universal branding, we must give importance to already established brands for inclusiveness of marketing in this era of globalization. Rajesh Meena , I.A.S., Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bihar has also graced the occasion and supplemented the ideas and suggestions in framing the policy.
Dr. Hema Yadav, Director, VAMNICOM presented the highlights of the policy and key recommendations on, Strengthening and Deepening Cooperative Movement, Legal Framework & promoting level playing field for cooperatives, Credit Structure & Financing of Cooperatives and Collectives, Infrastructure and Technology Adoption, Governance and Networks of Sector Organisations, Education, Training, Research and Extension Services, Membership & Social inclusion and Promotion of Vibrancy in the sector and diverse business enterprises.
Sanjay Kumar, Commissioner, MNREGA gave importance to the standards and quality control attributes in the cooperative ecosystem.
The Sikkim State Cooperative Chairman focused on the policy framework on election Structure , increasing representatives from the North Eastern zones, enhancement in capacity building activities in North east States and determined policy points on Cooperatives in Tourism, Pilgrimage, Sports and Adventures etc.
The stakeholders have appreciated the enabling provisions of the new cooperation policy that has taken a holistic approach. There were a few suggestions on strengthening capacity building, mainstreaming the youth and women.
In concluding remarks, Shuresh Prabhu assured the State officials that the Draft Committee has taken utmost care in protecting states autonomy and federal characters. Cooperatives must penetrate in all spheres of sectors for better survival and wider outreach.
