IFFCO’s AGM at NCUI’s headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday heralded many firsts and the most noticeable among them was a determined attempt by the cooperative behemoth and its Managing Director to reach out to cooperators of all hues across the country.
It was an AGM where special invitees numbering in hundreds invested the show with the proportion of a cooperative Kumbh emphasizing “sabaka saath”- a phrase coined and popularized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Awasthi had invited almost all the promising cooperators- young and old, men and women, IFFCO or non-IFFCO to the AGM. His impatience to convert them to the digital way of life or Digital Bharat was loud and clear.
It was also an AGM in which the Chairman announced the idea of constituting a life-time achievement award in the name of Dr U S Awasthi. It would be given to those who have made landmark contributions to the cooperative movement, noted Agenda No-10 and read out by Mr Nakai.
Among the many firsts was also a sight in which IFFCO Joint MD Rakesh Kapur received a hero’s welcome on his
election to the top job of international body IFA. Kapur walked all the way from the dais and stood amidst the delegates presenting the extraordinary spectacle of cooperators expressing their elation at IFFCO having annexed the international laurels.
The event started with Joint MD Rakesh Kapur reading out the notice and Chairman B S Nakai signaling the beginning of the proceedings. He announced a profit of Rs 1016 crore which thrilled the huge masses of delegates present on the occasion.
IFFCO distributed a dividend of Rs 84 crore to its members and it registered a minor decline in the production of urea which led to slight dip in its profit compared to last year. The production of NPK and DAP though registered growth.
This was due to sluggish market demand. There is also a visible move on the part of IFFCO to raise the production and sales of organic and bio fertilizers, as was noticeable from constant haranguing by Yogendra Kumar from the podium.
But before that, the NCUI auditorium was witness to an event which was perhaps the first of its kind- a huge queue of delegates and invitees lined up receiving stole and warmth from the Board of Directors led by the MD and Chairman. Each of them was honored individually as promised earlier. The exercise was protracted and was completed after the proceedings of the AGM.
In his short speech, the IFFCO MD named all the Chairmen and founder MD for their role and for making IFFCO what it is today. “A small idea; a wishful imagination has fructified in the shape that we see today”, were his words.
Stressing on the fast nature of technological changes he said “it does not take now a century to upturn your life; it
happens in a matter of a few years; so brace yourself and be ready for a plunge lest we are left behind-high and dry”, he stated.
Digital India is the new mantra and for us it means Digital Bharat as we are concerned that our farmers are able to keep pace with the changes, said the MD who is said to have personally coached uneducated farmers to the digital operations on mobile phone during his Farmers’ Connect Campaign.
Awasthi informed the delegates about his tours and said that he has already covered 73 destinations and he has to go to 53 more places. At the end of it–on 2nd and 3rd November we plan to have a big bash at the mother unit Kalol where you all are invited. Awasthi included everybody present in the meeting which meant Special Invitees too.
The MD also floated the idea of people of every area donning their cultural attires. That way we would show the true colors of IFFCO which represents states from north to south and from east to west.
