Kurukshetra Magazine January 2023 - 1 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 2


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 71  No. 3  Pages 52
January 2023
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7
th
 Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673) 
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2
nd
 Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)  
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit, Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2
nd
 Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad - Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4
th
 Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669) ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENTS
CHIEF EDITOR 
Rakeshrenu
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453 FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
Amit Shah 5
? Vibrant Tomorrow through Cooperatives 
Bhuwan Bhaskar 28
? Women and Youth Participation in 
Cooperatives
Dr. Neelam Patel  
Dr. Tanu Sethi 13
? Cooperative Entrepreneurship  
Dr. Ishita G. Tripathy 18
? Modernisation and Competitiveness 
in Cooperatives
Sandip Das 34
? Cooperatives to FPOs: A Paradigm Shift
Darshan N.P.  
Souvik Ghosh 39
? Cooperatives and Rural Livelihood   
Dr. H.L. Sharma 23
? Broadening Outreach of Cooperatives
Dr. Harender Raj Gautam  45
Page 3


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 71  No. 3  Pages 52
January 2023
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7
th
 Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673) 
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2
nd
 Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)  
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit, Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2
nd
 Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad - Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4
th
 Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669) ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENTS
CHIEF EDITOR 
Rakeshrenu
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453 FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
Amit Shah 5
? Vibrant Tomorrow through Cooperatives 
Bhuwan Bhaskar 28
? Women and Youth Participation in 
Cooperatives
Dr. Neelam Patel  
Dr. Tanu Sethi 13
? Cooperative Entrepreneurship  
Dr. Ishita G. Tripathy 18
? Modernisation and Competitiveness 
in Cooperatives
Sandip Das 34
? Cooperatives to FPOs: A Paradigm Shift
Darshan N.P.  
Souvik Ghosh 39
? Cooperatives and Rural Livelihood   
Dr. H.L. Sharma 23
? Broadening Outreach of Cooperatives
Dr. Harender Raj Gautam  45
Kurukshetra       January  2023 4
The Government of India took a historic decision to create a new Ministry, 
the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 to provide a separate administrative, 
legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement 
in country. The principal activities of the Ministry include streamlining 
processes for ‘Ease of doing Business’ for co-operatives and enabling 
development of Multi-State Co-operative Societies. 
This issue of Kuruksehtra is dedicated to the theme Cooperatives. Our 
lead article-Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi presents in depth analysis of the 
theme. The article talks about the impact of cooperatives in the country and 
their role in the development of India. 
Another article Cooperative Entrepreneurship explores the mutually 
reinforcing requirements and intrinsically linked objectives of cooperatives 
and entrepreneurship to achieve the broader objective of community 
development. 
Cooperatives has a huge role in ensuring the sustainable rural livelihood. 
The cooperatives play a major self-help role in rural areas, particularly where 
private entrepreneurs hesitate to make investment and public authorities 
are not able to provide the required services due to paucity of funds. 
Role of women and youth is crucial in India’s development story , the article 
Women and Y outh Participation in Cooperatives says that India has become the 
fifth largest economy in the world and can channelise its demographic advantage 
in its quest to become one among the world's top three largest economies.  
Co-operative movement is one such window that can bring youth and 
specifically more women in the mainstream to contribute constructively to 
sustainable economic development.
As the cooperative sector in India is about 118 years old, now, the time 
has come to overhaul and strengthen it according to the need of the hour. 
It is urgent to infuse efficiency, accountability, transparency in the entire 
system and adopt modern technology and professionalism.
Needless to say that cooperatives in India have witnessed a robust past, 
but a more vibrant future is in offing. The article Vibrant Tomorrow through 
Cooperatives states that with focus on quality, professional management, 
innovation, growing expertise in marketing and branding and government 
support, cooperatives are all set to accomplish the stated objective to uplift 
the rural population of the country.
With this issue, we wish our readers a very happy and a prosperous 
new year 2023. 
Page 4


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 71  No. 3  Pages 52
January 2023
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7
th
 Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673) 
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2
nd
 Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)  
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit, Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2
nd
 Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad - Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4
th
 Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669) ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENTS
CHIEF EDITOR 
Rakeshrenu
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453 FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
Amit Shah 5
? Vibrant Tomorrow through Cooperatives 
Bhuwan Bhaskar 28
? Women and Youth Participation in 
Cooperatives
Dr. Neelam Patel  
Dr. Tanu Sethi 13
? Cooperative Entrepreneurship  
Dr. Ishita G. Tripathy 18
? Modernisation and Competitiveness 
in Cooperatives
Sandip Das 34
? Cooperatives to FPOs: A Paradigm Shift
Darshan N.P.  
Souvik Ghosh 39
? Cooperatives and Rural Livelihood   
Dr. H.L. Sharma 23
? Broadening Outreach of Cooperatives
Dr. Harender Raj Gautam  45
Kurukshetra       January  2023 4
The Government of India took a historic decision to create a new Ministry, 
the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 to provide a separate administrative, 
legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement 
in country. The principal activities of the Ministry include streamlining 
processes for ‘Ease of doing Business’ for co-operatives and enabling 
development of Multi-State Co-operative Societies. 
This issue of Kuruksehtra is dedicated to the theme Cooperatives. Our 
lead article-Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi presents in depth analysis of the 
theme. The article talks about the impact of cooperatives in the country and 
their role in the development of India. 
Another article Cooperative Entrepreneurship explores the mutually 
reinforcing requirements and intrinsically linked objectives of cooperatives 
and entrepreneurship to achieve the broader objective of community 
development. 
Cooperatives has a huge role in ensuring the sustainable rural livelihood. 
The cooperatives play a major self-help role in rural areas, particularly where 
private entrepreneurs hesitate to make investment and public authorities 
are not able to provide the required services due to paucity of funds. 
Role of women and youth is crucial in India’s development story , the article 
Women and Y outh Participation in Cooperatives says that India has become the 
fifth largest economy in the world and can channelise its demographic advantage 
in its quest to become one among the world's top three largest economies.  
Co-operative movement is one such window that can bring youth and 
specifically more women in the mainstream to contribute constructively to 
sustainable economic development.
As the cooperative sector in India is about 118 years old, now, the time 
has come to overhaul and strengthen it according to the need of the hour. 
It is urgent to infuse efficiency, accountability, transparency in the entire 
system and adopt modern technology and professionalism.
Needless to say that cooperatives in India have witnessed a robust past, 
but a more vibrant future is in offing. The article Vibrant Tomorrow through 
Cooperatives states that with focus on quality, professional management, 
innovation, growing expertise in marketing and branding and government 
support, cooperatives are all set to accomplish the stated objective to uplift 
the rural population of the country.
With this issue, we wish our readers a very happy and a prosperous 
new year 2023. 
Kurukshetra       January  2023 5
Amit Shah
‘Cooperation’ embodies two important principles of human civilisation – ‘Sah’ and ‘Karya’ which means accomplishment of 
outcome-oriented activities following an all-inclusive approach. Cooperatives have immense potential to deliver required goods 
and services at the grass-roots and to ensure a sustainable and quality growth. Seven decades of attaining independence have 
witnessed a skewed distribution of cooperatives across States, indicating immense scope for expansion of cooperative movement. 
The contribution of cooperatives will have a multiplicative effect on our Prime Minister’s vision of five trillion-dollar Indian 
economy. The time has come to transform cooperatives into multi-purpose and multi-dimensional community business units to 
cater to the demands of agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors at the community level. All-inclusive socio-economic 
progress of India requires quick, time-bound and a comprehensive and consultative action plan on cooperative development. The 
task seems difficult but attainable. The cumulative efforts of Union and State Governments, cooperative leaders and the federal 
heads would, undoubtedly , bring all of us closer to achieving the goal of ‘Sahkar Se Samridhi’.
Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
ooperation’ has remained 
the philosophy of our nation 
for centuries. India strives 
for a cooperative-led all-
encompassing socio-economic progress. 
The cooperative sector has always played 
a significant role in the overall economic 
development of the country with its 
member driven and all-inclusive approach. 
Cooperation embodies two important 
principles of human civilisation – ‘Sah’ and 
‘Karya’ which means accomplishment of 
outcome-oriented activities following an 
all-inclusive method. It has the required 
capability to ensure equitable and 
concerted efforts towards enhancing the 
flow of timely, adequate and door-step 
commodity and service supports to various critical 
infrastructure such as agriculture and industrial 
input services, irrigation, marketing, processing and 
community storages, etc., and also for other activities 
such as poultry, fisheries, horticulture, dairy, textiles, 
consumer, housing, health – to name a few.
India is now celebrating its past glorious 
achievements and exploring pathways to make a 
deprivation-free and socio-economically prosperous 
environment. At the time when we rejoice the 
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and India@75, we must 
get ourselves ready to becoming one of the world 
economic leaders through the mechanism of 
cooperation. Cooperatives are universally accepted 
'
C
as an essential instrument of social and economic 
policy and have inherent advantages in strengthening 
the efforts leading to overall economic prosperity 
with enhanced livelihood security and employment. 
These have immense potential to deliver required 
goods and services at the grass-roots and to ensure 
a sustainable and quality growth environment. We 
should appreciate and recognise the strength of 
our cooperatives. These are people-centred rather 
than capital-centred organisations and through 
collective efforts they bring in cohesiveness, 
community business sense and enhance social 
bonding. These are governed by seven golden 
principles (Table 1).
The author is Union Home and Cooperation Minister of India. Views expressed are personal.  
Email: minister-coop@gov.in
Page 5


A Journal on Rural Development 
Vol. 71  No. 3  Pages 52
January 2023
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message of Rural Development to all people. It serves as a forum for free, frank and serious discussion on the problems of Rural 
Development with special focus on Rural Uplift.
The views expressed by the authors in the articles are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the organisations they work for.
The readers are requested to verify the claims in the advertisements regarding career guidance books/institutions. Kurukshetra does not own responsibility. Maps 
used are for illustration & study purpose and may not strictly conform to the official map. Images, graphics and illustrations, wherever used, are mostly sourced from 
government channels and are indicative in nature. Final Editing rights will vest with Kurukshetra Team.
Sales Emporia : ? Delhi - BM (I/c), Publications Division, CGO Complex, Soochna Bhavan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 (011-24365609); 
Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi 110054 (011-23890205) ? Kolkata - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata-700069 
(033-22482576) ? Mumbai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, 701, C-Wing, 7
th
 Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai-400614 
(022-27570686) ? Chennai - BM (I/c), Publications Division, ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 (044-24917673) 
? Thiruvananthapuram - BM, Publications Division, Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthpuram - 6950001 (0471-2330650)  
? Hyderabad - BM, Publications Division, Room No. 204, 2
nd
 Floor, C.G.O. Towers, Kavadiguda, Hyderabad-500080 (040-27535383)  
? Bengaluru - BM (I/c), Sales Unit, Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bengaluru - 560034 (080-25537244)  
? Patna - BM, Publications Division, Bihar State Co-operative, Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna-800004 (0612-2675823)  
? Lucknow - BM, Publications Division, Hall No. 1, 2
nd
 Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, sector – H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 (0522-2325455)  
? Ahmedabad - Sales Unit, Publications Division, 4-C, Neptune Tower, 4
th
 Floor, Nr HP Petrol Pump, Nehru Bridge Corner, Ashram Road, 
Ahmedabad Gujarat -380009 (079-26588669) ? Guwahati - Publications Division, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board, Ground 
Floor, MRD Road, Chandmari, Guwahati - 781003 (0361- 2668237/2664613)
CONTENTS
CHIEF EDITOR 
Rakeshrenu
EDITOR 
Shiela Chaudhary 
Pankhuri Awasthi
JOINT DIRECTOR (PRODUCTION)
D.K.C. Hrudhainath
COVER DESIGN
Rajender Kumar
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Room No. 653,  
Publications Division,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 
Phone : 011-24362859  
Email : kurukshetrajournal@gmail.com
For Subscription Enquiries,  
Grievances, Renewals and Agency  
Information, Please Contact:
Journals Unit 
Publications Division, Room No. 779,  
Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex,  
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003
(Monday-Friday, 9:30 AM-6:00 PM)
Phone : 24367453 FAX: 24365610
Email : pdjucir@gmail.com
Website : publicationsdivision.nic.in
@publicationsdivision
@DPD_India
@dpd_India
For Online Sale, please log on to  
bharatkosh.gov.in/product, and for  
e-books, please visit Google Play,  
Kobo or Amazon.
Subscription* :
Inland
1 Year : ` 230
Abroad (Air Mail)
One Year
` 530 (SAARC Countries)
` 730 (Other Countries)
* Revised from April 2016  
   Issue Onwards
? Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
Amit Shah 5
? Vibrant Tomorrow through Cooperatives 
Bhuwan Bhaskar 28
? Women and Youth Participation in 
Cooperatives
Dr. Neelam Patel  
Dr. Tanu Sethi 13
? Cooperative Entrepreneurship  
Dr. Ishita G. Tripathy 18
? Modernisation and Competitiveness 
in Cooperatives
Sandip Das 34
? Cooperatives to FPOs: A Paradigm Shift
Darshan N.P.  
Souvik Ghosh 39
? Cooperatives and Rural Livelihood   
Dr. H.L. Sharma 23
? Broadening Outreach of Cooperatives
Dr. Harender Raj Gautam  45
Kurukshetra       January  2023 4
The Government of India took a historic decision to create a new Ministry, 
the Ministry of Cooperation in 2021 to provide a separate administrative, 
legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement 
in country. The principal activities of the Ministry include streamlining 
processes for ‘Ease of doing Business’ for co-operatives and enabling 
development of Multi-State Co-operative Societies. 
This issue of Kuruksehtra is dedicated to the theme Cooperatives. Our 
lead article-Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi presents in depth analysis of the 
theme. The article talks about the impact of cooperatives in the country and 
their role in the development of India. 
Another article Cooperative Entrepreneurship explores the mutually 
reinforcing requirements and intrinsically linked objectives of cooperatives 
and entrepreneurship to achieve the broader objective of community 
development. 
Cooperatives has a huge role in ensuring the sustainable rural livelihood. 
The cooperatives play a major self-help role in rural areas, particularly where 
private entrepreneurs hesitate to make investment and public authorities 
are not able to provide the required services due to paucity of funds. 
Role of women and youth is crucial in India’s development story , the article 
Women and Y outh Participation in Cooperatives says that India has become the 
fifth largest economy in the world and can channelise its demographic advantage 
in its quest to become one among the world's top three largest economies.  
Co-operative movement is one such window that can bring youth and 
specifically more women in the mainstream to contribute constructively to 
sustainable economic development.
As the cooperative sector in India is about 118 years old, now, the time 
has come to overhaul and strengthen it according to the need of the hour. 
It is urgent to infuse efficiency, accountability, transparency in the entire 
system and adopt modern technology and professionalism.
Needless to say that cooperatives in India have witnessed a robust past, 
but a more vibrant future is in offing. The article Vibrant Tomorrow through 
Cooperatives states that with focus on quality, professional management, 
innovation, growing expertise in marketing and branding and government 
support, cooperatives are all set to accomplish the stated objective to uplift 
the rural population of the country.
With this issue, we wish our readers a very happy and a prosperous 
new year 2023. 
Kurukshetra       January  2023 5
Amit Shah
‘Cooperation’ embodies two important principles of human civilisation – ‘Sah’ and ‘Karya’ which means accomplishment of 
outcome-oriented activities following an all-inclusive approach. Cooperatives have immense potential to deliver required goods 
and services at the grass-roots and to ensure a sustainable and quality growth. Seven decades of attaining independence have 
witnessed a skewed distribution of cooperatives across States, indicating immense scope for expansion of cooperative movement. 
The contribution of cooperatives will have a multiplicative effect on our Prime Minister’s vision of five trillion-dollar Indian 
economy. The time has come to transform cooperatives into multi-purpose and multi-dimensional community business units to 
cater to the demands of agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors at the community level. All-inclusive socio-economic 
progress of India requires quick, time-bound and a comprehensive and consultative action plan on cooperative development. The 
task seems difficult but attainable. The cumulative efforts of Union and State Governments, cooperative leaders and the federal 
heads would, undoubtedly , bring all of us closer to achieving the goal of ‘Sahkar Se Samridhi’.
Realising Sahkar Se Samriddhi
ooperation’ has remained 
the philosophy of our nation 
for centuries. India strives 
for a cooperative-led all-
encompassing socio-economic progress. 
The cooperative sector has always played 
a significant role in the overall economic 
development of the country with its 
member driven and all-inclusive approach. 
Cooperation embodies two important 
principles of human civilisation – ‘Sah’ and 
‘Karya’ which means accomplishment of 
outcome-oriented activities following an 
all-inclusive method. It has the required 
capability to ensure equitable and 
concerted efforts towards enhancing the 
flow of timely, adequate and door-step 
commodity and service supports to various critical 
infrastructure such as agriculture and industrial 
input services, irrigation, marketing, processing and 
community storages, etc., and also for other activities 
such as poultry, fisheries, horticulture, dairy, textiles, 
consumer, housing, health – to name a few.
India is now celebrating its past glorious 
achievements and exploring pathways to make a 
deprivation-free and socio-economically prosperous 
environment. At the time when we rejoice the 
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and India@75, we must 
get ourselves ready to becoming one of the world 
economic leaders through the mechanism of 
cooperation. Cooperatives are universally accepted 
'
C
as an essential instrument of social and economic 
policy and have inherent advantages in strengthening 
the efforts leading to overall economic prosperity 
with enhanced livelihood security and employment. 
These have immense potential to deliver required 
goods and services at the grass-roots and to ensure 
a sustainable and quality growth environment. We 
should appreciate and recognise the strength of 
our cooperatives. These are people-centred rather 
than capital-centred organisations and through 
collective efforts they bring in cohesiveness, 
community business sense and enhance social 
bonding. These are governed by seven golden 
principles (Table 1).
The author is Union Home and Cooperation Minister of India. Views expressed are personal.  
Email: minister-coop@gov.in
Kurukshetra       January  2023 6
Creation of a New Ministry – A Historic Move 
India has a rich history of cooperatives. A few 
people may know that India’s Iron Man – Sardar 
Vallabhbhai Patel ji used to follow the basic ideology 
of cooperation while solving various critical problems 
on the ground. His pioneering work witnessed the 
spread of the dairy cooperative movement in the 
country when he sowed the seeds of Anand Milk 
Union Limited (Amul) through Shri Tribhuvandas 
Patel by forming farmer cooperatives, production 
and marketing of milk through collectivised efforts. 
The small seed sown by Sardar Patel has now become 
a global dairy brand.
The rich Indian history of cooperation and the 
inherent socio-economic potential of this sector 
could not, however, ensure a separate governance 
structure at the national level for last 74 years of 
independent governance system. In this context, 
July 6, 2021 will remain a historic day forever for the 
India’s cooperative sector. On that day, the Hon’ble 
Prime Minister of the country, Shri Narendra Modi 
Ji took a firm decision and for the first time in India, 
the Ministry of Co-operation was set up to enable 
and spread the growth of cooperative movement 
across India. We could fulfil the strongly felt long 
pending demand for creation of a separate Ministry 
for paying due policy recognition to critical matters 
of cooperative sector. 
Table 1: Seven Golden Principles of Cooperation
1 Voluntary and Open 
Membership
Cooperatives are voluntary organisations where membership is open to all 
persons without any discrimination.
2 Democratic Member 
Control
Cooperatives are member-driven and member-controlled democratic units. 
Members actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. 
In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights conforming to the 
norm of ‘one member – one vote’.
3 Member Economic 
Participation
Members contribute equitably to and control and utilise the capital of their 
cooperative to support their economic activities.
4Autonomy and 
Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous organisations and believe in self-help for 
maintaining their cooperative autonomy through democratic controls.
5 Education, Training 
and Information
Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected 
representatives, managers and employees to support development drives of 
their units.
6 Cooperation among 
Cooperatives
Cooperatives extend efficient service support to their members and strengthen 
cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional 
and international structures.
7Concern for 
Community
One of the major aims of cooperatives is to ensure sustainable development for 
their communities through adoption of appropriate policy measures.
Source: International Cooperative Alliance [Available at https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity]