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Shah took a swipe at some opposition members for their demand that the university should have been named after Verghese Kurien, associated with the growth of milk cooperatives in Gujarat, saying that Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel was a Congress leader who gave job to Kurien
The proposed university will also address the long pending issue of capacity building of employees and board members in the co-operative sector in a pan-India and focused manner. (Photo: PTI file)
Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to set up ‘Tribhuvan Sahkari University’ in Gujarat’s Anand with an aim to create a qualified manpower for co-operative societies.
The university has been named after Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel, who was one of the pioneers of cooperative movement in India and instrumental in laying the foundation of Amul, Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said during a debate on the “Tribhuvan” Sahkari University Bill, 2025.
Shah took a swipe at some opposition members for their demand that the university should have been named after Verghese Kurien, associated with the growth of milk cooperatives in Gujarat, saying that Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel was a Congress leader who gave job to Kurien.
The Amul’s journey started in 1946 has transformed into the one of the world’s biggest dairy brands with a turnover of over Rs 60,000 crore, he said.
The proposed university will also address the long pending issue of capacity building of employees and board members in the co-operative sector in a pan-India and focused manner.
To further strengthen the cooperative sector in India, Shah said, a cooperative insurance company will be set up soon that will provide insurance coverage to all cooperative societies in the country.
He exuded confidence that the insurance company will emerge as the biggest private insurance company in time to come.
In the coming days, he said, ‘Sahkar Taxi’ on the lines of Ola and Uber will be set up which will register two-wheelers and four-wheelers and the money will directly go to the driver instead of the app operator.
To expand the cooperative movement, he said, additional 2 lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) will be created before 2029 general elections.
With the addition, all villages will have their own PACS, he said, adding, all states have adopted model bylaws whereby 50 economic activities have been brought under their ambit.
Once the Bill is passed, India will get its first university for the cooperative sector for capacity building of manpower engaged in the sector.
The university will not only train people but also upgrade skills of those working in the sector, he said, adding, it will follow a hub-and-spoke model for imparting training in different states through institutions related to the sector.
There are about 8 lakh cooperative societies with 30 crore members in India. Every fifth Indian is attached to any cooperative society.
Cooperative not only fosters rural development but creates opportunity for self employment and research and innovation.
Citing the successful journey of Amul, Shah said, its turnover was Rs 2,882 crore in 2003 and now it has crossed Rs 60,000 crore which is five times more than HUL and eight times of Nestle India.
At the Group level, he said, the turnover is Rs 90,000 crore including non-dairy business.
Taking a political swipe at the opposition, he said, Kamal (symbol of BJP) has bloomed in Delhi and time is not far away when it will bloom in West Bengal too.
Intellectual bankruptcy is evident in the opposition and it flows from top to bottom, he said without naming anyone.
Quoting a Gujarati adage, Shah said if a well is dry how could it provide water to farmland.
Sharing various steps taken by the Ministry of Cooperation, he said, income tax rules have been relaxed for the cooperative sector, centralised database has been created, and Urban Cooperative Banks have been permitted to do One Time Settlement, among others.
According to the Bill, the present education and training infrastructure in the co-operative sector is “fragmented and grossly inadequate” to meet the present and future demand for qualified manpower and capacity building of existing employees in co-operative societies.
The bill said it is essential that a comprehensive, integrated and standardised structure is created for education, training and research by establishing a national university to ensure a stable, adequate and quality supply of professionally qualified manpower for different categories of jobs in co-operatives such as managerial, supervisory, administrative, technical and operational.
The “Tribhuvan” Cooperative University Bill, 2025, aims to provide education and training in the cooperative sector through Tribhuvan Cooperative University, build youth capacity, establish centres of excellence offering degree programmes, distance education, and e-learning courses, and train approximately 8,00,000 individuals annually, while creating sector-specific ‘Schools of Excellence’ in areas like dairy and fisheries.
The “Tribhuvan” Sahkari University will ensure a steady supply of trained human resources for new initiatives, unify 284 cooperative training institutes across India, enhance the capacity of existing centres, increase long-term cooperative courses nationwide, and establish a comprehensive and integrated system for education and training in the cooperative sector.
The establishment of “Tribhuvan” Cooperative University will realise the government’s mantra of ‘Sahkar Se Samriddhi’, boosting the rural economy, promoting the growth of dairy, fisheries, and banking cooperatives, and offering valuable career opportunities for youth in the cooperative sector, he said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
