Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, 5 July 2025, said that policy initiatives by both the Central and State Governments have given fresh impetus to the cooperative sector, enabling cooperative institutions to play a decisive role in channelling credit and development to even the remotest farmer. He was speaking at the Sahakar Gaurav Awards Ceremony in Mumbai, jointly organised by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Union and Sahakari Maharashtra on the occasion of the International Day of Cooperatives.

Maharashtra's Century-Long Cooperative Legacy

CM Fadnavis noted that Maharashtra recognised the significance of the cooperative movement well before most other regions, with efforts beginning over 125 years ago to liberate farmers from moneylender exploitation. He recalled that the country's first cooperative credit society was established in 1904, followed by the apex cooperative bank in 1911. He paid tribute to pioneers including Dhananjayrao Gadgil, Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil, and Vaikunthbhai Mehta for laying the movement's foundation. Today, the state hosts more than two lakh cooperative institutions, making it home to India's largest cooperative network.

National Policy Push and Key Initiatives

Highlighting the Centre's commitment, Fadnavis pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to establish India's first independent Ministry of Cooperation on 6 July 2021 — a move that elevated cooperation from a state-level concern to a matter of national strategic importance. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, as the country's first Union Cooperation Minister, has brought what Fadnavis described as 'vision and strong leadership' to the sector.

The Chief Minister outlined several Central initiatives that have strengthened cooperatives: the digitisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), the planned establishment of two lakh new PACS over five years, and the creation of the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL). A Central Cooperative University and an umbrella organisation for cooperatives have also been set up. The National Cooperative Policy aims to triple the cooperative sector's contribution to India's GDP over the next 20 years.

Sugar, Rural Credit, and Financial Inclusion

Fadnavis also cited the waiver of ₹10,000 crore in income tax dues owed by cooperative sugar factories and the sector's renewed growth through Ethanol and Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) policies. He said permitting cooperative institutions to operate across 17 categories of activities in rural areas, alongside financial assistance channelled through the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), has transformed cooperatives into effective instruments of rural development. Cooperative banks, he added, have demonstrated stronger performance than many had anticipated, expanding financial inclusion and ensuring institutional credit reaches every farmer through district central cooperative banks.

Housing Cooperatives and Self-Redevelopment

The Chief Minister noted that 40 to 45 per cent of Maharashtra's cooperative institutions are cooperative housing societies — a segment that had long been neglected. Following the efforts of MLA Pravin Darekar, a separate chapter on cooperative housing societies has been incorporated into the Cooperative Act. Built on this foundation, the government introduced the Self-Redevelopment Scheme, enabling housing societies to undertake redevelopment independently. Fadnavis said thousands of families are now moving from 400-square-foot homes to 1,000-square-foot apartments, calling it 'immensely satisfying.' He appealed to cooperative banks to extend enhanced financial support for pending redevelopment projects and indicated that Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) issues would be addressed to extend the self-redevelopment model beyond Mumbai.

Accountability and the Road Ahead

Fadnavis underscored that the cooperative movement's greatest strengths lie in people's participation and financial inclusion. Because directors of district cooperative banks are democratically elected, they remain directly accountable to ordinary farmers — a quality he urged commercial and nationalised banks to emulate. The awards ceremony honoured distinguished individuals, institutions, and office-bearers for their outstanding contributions to the sector, reinforcing the movement's continued relevance in rural Maharashtra.