Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, praised the cooperative sector's transformation under Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, calling the 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' framework a living reality for crores of farming families across India.

Posting on X, Chouhan wrote that 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' ('Prosperity through Cooperation') has ceased to be merely a slogan and has become, in his words, 'a living mantra for crores of farmer families across the country.' He credited Amit Shah's leadership with bringing about a three-dimensional shift in the cooperative sector — its condition, its vision, and its direction.

Context

The Ministry of Cooperation was established as a standalone central ministry in July 2021, with Amit Shah appointed as its first minister. The creation of the ministry marked a significant structural shift: cooperative policy, previously dispersed across multiple ministries, was brought under a single, dedicated institutional roof. The move was described by the government as an effort to give the cooperative sector the focused attention it had historically lacked at the central level.

Chouhan's post appears to reference a specific example of welfare delivery through cooperatives, though the precise event or scheme milestone is not identified in the post. The broader message is one of institutional endorsement — a senior cabinet colleague publicly affirming the direction of cooperative policy.

Policy Backdrop

The 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' framework is the official governing philosophy of the Ministry of Cooperation, positioning cooperative societies as a distinct third pillar of the economy alongside the public and private sectors. The approach draws on the 97th Constitutional Amendment of 2011, which granted constitutional recognition and autonomy to cooperative societies, while adding a new layer of central coordination and digitisation.

Key initiatives under the ministry's remit have included the computerisation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), the formation of new multi-state cooperative entities in sectors such as exports and organic produce, and efforts to bring unserved villages into the cooperative fold. The government has framed these steps as extending institutional credit and market access to farmers who have historically depended on informal channels.

Since 2014, successive BJP-led governments have sought to elevate cooperatives as a vehicle for rural prosperity, building on earlier cooperative legislation while introducing centralised policy coordination. Chouhan's statement fits squarely within this longer political and policy arc.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of cooperative sector reform are India's farming households and rural communities, particularly those with access to PACS and other primary cooperative institutions. Advocates argue that a strengthened cooperative network can provide affordable credit, collective bargaining power for produce, and access to government welfare schemes at the village level.

Chouhan, who served four terms as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh — a state with a large agrarian population — brings direct administrative experience with rural welfare delivery to his current national portfolio. His public endorsement of the cooperative ministry's work signals alignment at the cabinet level on the importance of the sector.

What's Next

Parliamentary deliberations on a new National Cooperative Policy and budgetary allocations for the infrastructure and digitisation of PACS remain closely watched by cooperative sector stakeholders. The government's ability to translate the 'Sahkar Se Samriddhi' vision into measurable outcomes — expanded membership, improved credit flow, and higher farmer incomes — will be the benchmark against which the ministry's record is ultimately assessed.