Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Monday, 6 July 2026, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'visionary leadership' for the creation of India's first dedicated Ministry of Cooperation, saying it has brought 'unprecedented positive change' to the lives of crores of farmers, animal husbandry workers, women, and youth across the country.

Context

In his post on X, CM Sharma wrote in Hindi: 'देश के यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी के दूरदर्शी नेतृत्व में पहली बार एक स्वतंत्र सहकारिता मंत्रालय का गठन हुआ' — translating to: 'Under the visionary leadership of the country's distinguished Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, for the first time an independent Ministry of Cooperation was formed.' He added that the ministry has worked to bring 'unprecedented positive change' to crores of farmers, animal husbandry workers, women, and youth.

The post was accompanied by a video, underscoring the BJP government's continued effort to highlight cooperative-sector reforms as a flagship achievement of the Modi administration.

Policy Backdrop

The Ministry of Cooperation was established in July 2021, when the Union Government carved it out of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to give focused, independent attention to cooperative societies across India. It was a structural first — no such standalone ministry had existed before in independent India.

Since its formation, the ministry has pursued large-scale computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), amendments to the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, and integration of cooperatives with digital-payment and credit-delivery infrastructure. These measures are part of a broader rural-development approach linking self-help groups, cooperative credit, and agricultural supply chains.

Stakeholders and Impact

Farmers and animal husbandry workers are among the primary beneficiaries cited, as cooperative credit societies and dairy cooperatives form a critical part of rural livelihoods across states including Rajasthan. Women's self-help groups and youth entrepreneurship programmes channelled through cooperative networks have also been highlighted as key focus areas of the ministry.

For Rajasthan — a state with a large agrarian and pastoral population — the alignment between central cooperative policy and state-level implementation carries particular significance. CM Sharma's endorsement signals the state government's intent to deepen that alignment.

What's Next

Observers will watch for state-level adoption of central cooperative schemes in Rajasthan and any new legislation on multi-state cooperatives in upcoming parliamentary sessions. The broader question is whether the structural and digital reforms initiated since 2021 translate into measurable improvements in rural credit access and cooperative membership at the grassroots level.

As BJP-governed states increasingly champion the cooperative ministry's agenda, the sector is likely to remain a prominent plank in the party's rural outreach ahead of future electoral cycles.