Delivering a lecture on the occasion of 42nd death anniversary of Padmashree Dr Vithalrao Vikhe Patil known as the father of the cooperative movement, RBI Central Board Director Satish Marathe underlined the importance of attracting the youth to the cooperative movement by ensuring the ease of doing business among co-ops.
Marathe felt that to attract youth in the co-op fold and make it a going concern, it is needed that suitable reforms in the existing cooperative acts be achieved. It is no secret that Sahakar Bharati has been meeting state CMs and states’ co-op ministers for making changes in the co-op acts to make them attuned to the present times.
Speaking on the occasion Marathe said the country’s economy is fundamentally linked to the cooperative movement. The co-operative movement should expand its activities. There is an urgent need to adopt cooperation as the new economic model, he added in his speech.
The lecture on ‘Co-operation and Economic Development’ was organized by Pune University at Loni, Ahmednagar.
In his speech, Marathe added that the cooperative movement has made a significant contribution to the economic development of the country. The movement is becoming a big tool for generating employment opportunities in rural areas.
He said that for development, the supply of credit should be increased and the functioning of institutions should be defined. But the benefits are reaped by private multipurpose companies, leaving the co-operatives behind. With this in mind, efforts have been initiated through the new Ministry of Co-operation to ensure the cooperative movement survives the national and international competition.
He also noted that the work of formulating a new national policy on cooperation has now gained momentum and will soon take a new shape. On the occasion, he gave many examples of countries where cooperatives are playing an important role in the credit system.
Marathe said that the cooperative sector has contributed a lot to increasing the economic growth rate of Kenya. In India, IFFCO, Amul, and other co-operatives have made the movement proud at the International level. The agro-processing industry has great opportunities through cooperation.
He also expressed the need for co-operation in the field of insurance and healthcare. The management and distribution of water in Silicon Valley are done through cooperation. The tourism sector is also not lagging behind now, considering the importance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tourism in the country, and the co-operative movement should now focus on this too.
The function was presided over by former Minister Annasaheb Mhasnke Patil. Ashok Baburao Mhase Patil, Chairman of Pravara Sahakari Bank, Chairman of State Co-operative Credit Union Federation Kaka Koyote, and others graced the occasion.
Late Vithalrao Eknath Rao Vikhe Patil was an Indian industrialist, the founder of the first sugar factory in the cooperative sector in India at Loni, in Maharashtra.
