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Guidelines for58th All India Cooperative Week

Celebrations

T his year National Cooperative Union of India celebrates 58th

All India Cooperative Week from November 14th to November20th 2011 coincide with the International Cooperative Alliance(ICA) launch of International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). Todaythe Indian Cooperatives have made remarkable progress withare more than 6 lakhs cooperative societies with a membershipof 25 crores make it the largest cooperative movement of theworld. Cooperatives have a huge network and reach which isunparalleled with 100% coverage in the rural areas. Thecooperatives play a pivotal role in the main stream of IndianEconomy more particularly in the field of rural credit, distributionof agricultural inputs, storage, fertilizer marketing, consumer,fisheries, labour, housing etc. The cooperatives are to-day morerelevant than any other time because it is the only model forupliftment of disadvantageous for weaker-sections of oureconomy over the important component of inclusive growth.

The Theme of 58th All India Cooperative WeekCelebrations is “Inclusive Development ThroughCooperatives”. The focus of the planning commission in thepreparation of approach paper to the 12th five year plan (2012-2017) is on inclusive and sustainable growth with a target GDPgrowth of 9 per cent to 9.5 per cent range and 4 per cent growthrate of agriculture sector. The success of an inclusive growthmodel in our economy will depend much on growth in the ruralareas specially in the agriculture sector. Cooperatives whichare the backbone of the agriculture and rural economy have thecapability to revive the rural India. It can create the job opportunityand various kinds of small micro enterprises for the local areasin the non-farm sector to reverse the migration by making ruralliving more attractive with access to amenities for the community.Cooperatives can create stable livelihoods in rural areas. Inclusivegrowth implies an equitable distribution of resources and itsaccruing benefit for every sector of the society. Cooperatives

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being the member owned organizations have an advantage ofcreating a participatory base and bringing together every sectionof the society in the growth process. Both the short-term andlong-term cooperative credit sector structure and urbancooperative banking sector has the capability to promote financialinclusion which is necessary for inclusive growth in the rural andsemi-rural areas. Primary agriculture cooperative societiesPrimary Agriculture Cooperative Societies could provide valuableservices to their members which bring a sense of belongingness.Accordingly, there is need to revitalize these cooperatives asper the Vaidhyanathan Committee Recommendations and usethem extensively for financial inclusion in the rural areas. NABARDhas to play a proactive role by partnering with the cooperativerural credit institutions and identify new initiatives that willcontribute to improve the financial inclusion through cooperativefold.

The first Green Revolution was focused on irrigation fedareas and the rural agriculture cooperative was vital in achievingthe food self-sufficiency as well as transforming the agriculturesector. The need for second green revolution to ensure foodsecurity in the rain fed areas is the need of the hour. In Indianearly two third of the farmers primarily depend on rains forcultivation of their crops. The agriculture sector in India has alarge number of PACS handling supply of agriculture inputs creditmarketing and storage activities. The government policy directionand support are important for providing healthy environment forthe growth and development of the cooperatives in the country.The government need to give higher allocation of the sourcesfor cooperative education and training so that members in thevillage who are from farming community are able to use newtechnology, provide rural infrastructure and make use of marketinformation and risk management. Unless cooperative arestrengthened through pro-active support, the second greenrevolution in the country will be distance dreams in order tomaintain a sustainable agriculture sector he need to have a verystrong cooperative sector as a key factor for higher growth rateof Indian economy. It is necessary to ensure bigger role forcooperative in the areas of rural infrastructure developmentdelivery of agriculture inputs credit and other services. The

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development of human resources in the cooperative sector is apre-requisite for improving the capability of the farmers tocompete in the market place.

As we are aware that the United Nation has proclaimed2012 as “International Year of Cooperatives” and alsocommunicated to Government of India and various cooperativeorganizations and other stake-holders for its befittingcelebrations. The United Nations official IYC launch has beenfixed on October 31st, 2011 at United National Head Quarter. Itseems to be of rare opportunity for the Indian CooperativeMovements to raise public awareness of unique value basedmodel of cooperative enterprises and also take advantage tocreate a visibility of cooperatives by highlighting ourachievements, success stories and also efforts being made bythem for the socio-economic empowerment and commoneconomic needs. It may be noted that the United Nation hasalready identified the slogan for the International Year ofCooperatives with the theme “Cooperative Enterprises Buildingof Better World”. International Year of Cooperatives hopefullywill re-enforce faith in cooperative values and principles andpromoting documentation of success stories and best practicesto carry the fruits of economic development to the door steps offarmers under-privilege, women and urban and rural poor in thecountry.

This is worth mentioning here that cooperatives in theentire country are facing the biggest financial crunch towardsimplementing Human Resource Development (HRD)programmes and activities. In order to work on professionallines enlightened and active membership and inspiring leadership,it is pre-requisite for this sector to strengthen cooperative HRD.It is said that India has the biggest network of HRD institution inthe cooperative sector in Asia but the existing infrastructure andfunding availability from Government and cooperative sourcesseems to be quit inadequate. The lack of adequate fundingpattern adversely affect its training and education activities.Similarly, the institution funded by the State Government unionsare not in a position to deliver the training and improve theefficiency due to lack of adequate financial support from the StateGovernment. It is high time for the cooperative training institution

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to develop appropriate government structure, re-orientation andprofessionalization of trainers for effectiveness of the trainingprogramme. Another area for the training institution incooperative sector is to enhance their image and credibility sothat they become centre of excellence and move towards self-reliance in the long run. The Human Resource Managementand Development in the cooperative sector should be accordedtop priority by the Government of India and States for the growthand development of the cooperative sector. This will ultimatelyboost the efficiency and productivity of the members and makethem more accountable and responsible for the cause of theirsociety.

It is well recognized that a cooperative sector is playinga major role in poverty alleviation and creating job opportunitiesto all sections of the society. However, despite having morethan 100 years of glorious history of cooperative movement ofdifferent sizes in different sector, the cooperatives by and largedo not have access to the collective insights on the best practicesto help. The apex cooperatives may create a varieties ofresources including publication of books to gain a betterunderstanding about cooperative model in practices, collectionof essays and stories mostly written in a professional format toexplore various themes about the cooperative development,video documentary of success stories Other tools and resourcesis to be also made available on the web sides of variouscooperative organizations to increase its visibility among theusers and stake-holders to take advantage. It is also importantto incorporate more information on cooperative model ofenterprise and success stories like Warna Nagar, Apna Bazar,AMUL, MARKFED etc.

We are aware that India is one of the youngest countryin the world with 60 per cent of its population is less than 24years of age. It is the right time for the cooperatives to appeal tothe youth of the country as they provide level playing field andempowerment. The cooperatives may integrate youth in theirmajor activities and plan and educate them not only oncooperative values and principles but also cooperatives as aethical and democratic business with responsibility. In order toharness the youth power and revitalize the sector, cooperative

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needs to include youth representatives to their Board to enablethem to participate in the decision making process and also willbe a learning ground on how to run the business, and otherwelfare measures towards concern for community. It must benoted that most of the rural youth are unemployed and are notkeen for farming as a profession any more due to low profitabilityof agriculture and social stigma attached to it. There are manyactivities pertaining to agri-business, agri-clinic, agro-industries,handloom, handicraft development etc. need to be promoted inthe rural areas in a significant manner so that rural youth finds itmeaningful to pursue and get involved in the productive activities.It is high time for the apex cooperatives to promote schoolcooperatives and campus cooperatives in each educationalinstitution in the country so that youth take active participationand played a significant role for the success of cooperatives forthe younger generation. In the course curriculum both in theschool and in the colleges so that youth not only knows aboutthe cooperative movement but also finds solutions to variousproblems confronted by them.

The apex cooperatives need to strengthen the informationnet-working from their state level federations and provide successstories on regular basis to the media. The responsibility of thecooperative institutions is to create a better awarenessprogramme in collaboration with mass media so that its visibilityis felt across the country. The cooperatives should also notignore the power of vernacular media to popularize the activitiesand event strengthening the cooperative net work media fieldvisits, bringing special films and documentary etc. It was alsofelt that social media tools such as facebook, twitter, youtube,blogs etc. may be facilitate engaging communications amongcooperative members.

Broad guidelines for celebrating the 58th All IndiaCooperative Week are mentioned hereunder. Based on theseguidelines, the State Cooperative Unions, in consultation withthe State Level Cooperative Federations and District CooperativeUnions should chalk out comprehensive plan for celebration ofthe Cooperative Week. It should be ensured that cooperativesat all levels, cooperatives leaders, cooperative workers,employees and members are fully involved in the celebrations.

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14TH NOVEMBER 2011

Cooperative Democracy, Leadershipand Self-reliance

C ooperatives are ideal vehicles for democratization andeconomic empowerment in developing countries : they

instill basic democratic values and methods , foster self- reliancethrough collective action; and shape relationships betweeninstitutions and civil society that encourage participation andconflict resolution. The resulting framework provides thefoundation for a more secure society and for economic growth.

A cooperative is “ an autonomous association of personsunited voluntarily to meet their common economic , social andcultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned anddemocratically controlled enterprise . Cooperatives are basedon the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy , equality,equity and solidarity. In the tradition of cooperative founders,members of cooperatives believe in the ethical values of honesty,openness, social responsibility and caring for others.”

Cooperatives put their values into practice through sevencommonly accepted principles, the second of which is democraticmember control. Elaborating the principle of “ DemocraticControl”, the ICA Commission headed by Professor D.G. Karveclarified “ Cooperative Societies are democratic organization.”Cooperative members jointly set policies and make decisions.Men and women serving as elected representatives areaccountable to the membership. Members have equal votingrights (one member, one vote ).

Cooperative members own their business. They provideshare capital, elect a board of directors and receive the benefitsof ownership through patronage refunds based on extent of theirtransactions with the cooperatives. Cooperative teach peoplehow to resolve problems democratically and many who learndemocracy in cooperative “ laboratories “ go on to become

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political leaders in their nations. In emerging democracies ,Cooperative members learn entrepreneurship and marketingprinciples. Cooperatives enable people with limited resources topool them so as to competitively participate in the mainstreamof a nation’s economic and political life.

When the bulk of the population in a developing countryis rural, investing in agricultural cooperatives is an excellent wayto instill basic democratic values and empower individuals whilestimulating growth in agriculture - a key building block for broad-based economic development.

The role of the leader has expanded to include coach,visionary, motivator, strategist and team builder , while settingthe best direction for the organization. Effective and enlightenedcooperative leadership is essential for the growth and successof cooperatives. Effective leadership is a pre-requisite not onlyfor creating and nurturing a cooperative but also for providing avision and inspiring and guiding both the members and themanagement so as to enable the cooperative to achieve itspurpose. Cooperative leadership enables the manager/ leaderto empower people and maximize their own potential as well astheir staff’s while creating a learning culture within the workplaceof people acting together whose efforts move them towards ashared vision for mutual benefit. Elected members of the boardand office bearers, it is observed from the experience , have notplayed the role expected from them and have not beenresponsive to the aspirations of the members in many cases.Therefore, cooperatives have to reorient their functioning andmanagement by creating enlightened membership andprofessional managers. In order to achieve this, the leadershipshould provide good governance and constantly be innovativein running the cooperative enterprise. It is the leadership whichprovides vision, initiative, motive force and dynamism todemocracy and good governance. The Cooperative Leadershipmodel delivers incredible results, such as an increase inprofitability, performance and productivity as well as a decreasein internal conflicts, problems and attrition.

The concept of “ Self- Reliance” has become veryimportant for the growth and success of cooperatives. In the

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present times, the cooperatives have to compete in the marketeconomy successfully. The cooperatives can function in self-reliant manner only when they will lessen their financialdependence on the Government. For this, they will have tomobilize resources from various quarters. They will have to enterinto mutually - beneficial collaborations so that this can befinancially rewarding for them. Some of the successfulcooperatives in India like IFFCO, KRIBHCO have become selfreliant. They develop their own raw materials through research.Their business diversification has been highly rewarding for themand they have earned good profit in recent times. Dairycooperatives in the country have a strong self-reliant character.Due to their independent character with full participation of itsmembers, they become a strong model of self-reliance for thecooperative movement of the country.

During the Cooperative Week, it is essential to draw theattention of the leaders and policy makers towards the issuesraised above by organizing the following programmes :

Organize meetings and rallies of cooperators,legislators and member of parliaments to mobilizepublic opinion in favour of restoring democracywhere the elections to cooperatives have not beenheld so far.

Organize speeches and lectures of eminentcooperative leaders concerning the contributions ofcooperatives.

Organize conferences on self-reliant character ofcooperatives in which sectoral issues confrontingthe cooperative sector may be discussed.

Arrange film shows, talks on radio / televisionemphasizing about importance and relevance ofeffective leadership, democratic member controland self-reliance.

Convene meetings in school / colleges/ universitiesto discuss the importance and benefits of effectiveleadership, self-reliance and ways to encouragedemocratic values in cooperatives.

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Ensure equal participation of men and women of allcommunities in the membership, leadership,management and other decision making activitiesof cooperatives.

Organize seminars, conferences, workshops,symposium, essay and debating competitions onthe issues like role and impact of effectiveleadership.

Organize a national conference to discusssignificance of Constitutional Amendment Bill forCooperatives .

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15TH NOVEMBER 2011

Cooperative Marketing, Processingand Consumar Day

Introduction

T ill the end of the 19th Century in India, the problem ofmarketing was not a vexed one, because our farmers were

produced crops for ‘self consumption’ rather than with a view tothem off in the market. When marketing became a profit business,a large number of merchants/ traders involved in the businessactivities to earn more profit and started to exploit the pooragricultural producers. To eliminate the middle men from themarketing activities and provide better price for agriculturalproducers the cooperative marketing societies were establishedduring 1912 Act. The cooperative marketing has three distinctcharacteristics that separate from other business. They aremember owned, member controlled and generate memberbenefit. Prior to 1947, cooperative marketing had made someprogress in marketing of agricultural products mainly in the thanstates of Madras, Bombay, United provinces, Punjab and to alimited extent of Central Provinces of Bihar, Bengal, Barodaand Mysore.

According to 2011 census, Indian population has reachedto 121.02 crores and it occupies 17 per cent of the world totalpopulation. Based on the growth of population, the priority of the12th Five Year plan would be to accelerate agricultural growth oftwo per cent per annum in food production to ensure food securityand eliminate hunger. To meet the projected needs of 280 milliontonnes by 2020-21 and ensure food security, the cooperativemovement in India has been playing a vital role to contribute itsshares in National Economy. The major contributions frommarketing and processing cooperatives for the national economyare such as wheat procurement (6.926 million tonnes) 33.5 %,sugar produced (6.418 million tonnes) 46.6 %, oil marketed 49%,

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etc. The achievements of the Marketing ,Processing andConsumer cooperatives are discussed according to the regionwise.

Achievements of Marketing Cooperatives

(a) MARKFED in Punjab

The Punjab State Cooperative Supply & MarketingFederation Ltd known as ‘MARKFED’ was registered in 1954. Itwas commenced its business with one bicycle, three employees,thirteen members and a capital of Rs 54 000. Now the federationhas achieved meteoritic volumes with turn over of more than Rs10,000 crores and 3069 members societies . This successdepends on the enlightened management, progressive plan andpolicies, a highly dedicated workforce and commitment ofleadership.

(b) HAFED in Haryana

The Haryana State Cooperative Supply and MarketingFederation Ltd was established on 1st November, 1966. Sincethan it is playing a vital role in serving hygienic and safe qualityconsumer products. Now the federation has 712 memberssocieties. The business turn over of the federation for the year2009-10 was Rs 4253.53 crore and the net profit position wasRs 43.45 crore.

(c) TANFED in Tamil Nadu

The Tamilnadu Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd(TANFED) was started to commence its business on 20.02.1959.It is an apex level organisation of the state and having themembership of 110 Primary Cooperative Marketing Societieswith share capital position of Rs 213.34 laks. This federation ishaving its own fertiliser production unit i.e., Pamani 17;17;17with an annual production of 30,000 tonnes with right mix up ofNPK.

(d) National Agricultural Cooperative MarketingFederation (NAFED)

NAFED is the federal organisation of state level apex

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cooperative marketing societies in India. It was registered in 1958with an objective of to co-ordinate and promote the marketingand trading activities of its members in agricultural and othercommodities. During that period the membership of the federationwas 23 (17 State Marketing Federations and 5 federations ofmarketing cooperatives in the Union Territories and NCDC). Atpresent, the federation has 827 members with share capitalposition of Rs. 11.29 crores as on 31.03.2010. Further NAFEDachieved a business turnover of Rs. 5735.33 crores during 2009-10. NAFED is undertaking the organic project in Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and Kerala under National Horticulture Mission for Adoptionand Certification of Organic Farming. During the financial year2009-10. NAFED has implemented the organic project to thetune of Rs 16.71 crores.

Processing Cooperatives

Processing of food grains and other agriculturalcommodities is the most important stage in preparing them fitfor ultimate consumption. Almost all the agricultural commoditieshave to undergo one or more stages for processing before theyreach the consumer. This processing activities are carried outby the cooperatives particularly in cash crops such as sugar,cotton, jute, groundnut vegetables, fruits, etc., . The mainpurpose of establishing processing activities in cooperatives isto eliminate the middlemen from the processing activities andpromote the economic status of the members as well as thesocieties.

Warana Cooperative

The Warana Mission was started in 1953 by ShriTatyasaheb Kore in Maharastra. He collected money from thesmall farmers on equity basis and started a sugar factory. ThusWarana Cooperative Sugar Factory was formed, which was thefirst of the 25 cooperatives which would later come up in thearea. Now the Warana Sugar Factory has about 20.000cooperative farmers as its members and cover around 69 villageswith a sugar cultivated area of 10,800 Hectares (Dr. A. P. J.Abdul Kalam , The Hindu Survey of Indian Agriculture 2010). Itshows, in Maharashtra the cooperative movement is very

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successful through vertically and horizontally integrated andcommunity participated.

Finally, on the occasion of the week long cooperativecelebration the role of co-operators, leaders, academician,training institutes, research scholars and members ofcooperatives should exhibits the development models of grassroot level cooperatives to the community to promote thecooperative values and identity.

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16TH NOVEMBER 2011

Shelter and Living Environmentthrough Cooperatives

T he Cooperative Housing Movement in India is a strong wellspread movement which has developed over the years into

a noble and popular movement with mass participation. Themembership of housing cooperatives represents a cross sectionof masses drawn from all walks of life. The number of housingcooperatives and their membership has been growing at a steadypace over the years. At grass root level 100,000 primary housingcooperatives with a membership of 70 lakh are functioning inthe country. At state level 26 Apex Cooperative HousingFederations are working in various States and Union Territorieswhich are members of National Cooperative Housing Federationof India (NCHF).

Apex Cooperative Housing Federations obtain loans fromvarious financial institutions for on-lending to their memberhousing cooperatives as well as individual members forconstruction of dwelling units. Up to 31st March, 2011, the ApexFederations have borrowed a sum of Rs.10447 crores from LIC,National Housing Bank, HUDCO, Commercial and CooperativeBanks etc. and disbursed an amount of Rs.11104 crores to theprimary housing cooperatives and individual members for theconstruction/financing of 24.03 lakh dwelling units.

Housing units which have been facilitated by housingcooperatives have certain unique features. Not only they areplanned developments but they also provide various housingrelated essential infrastructure support such as local shoppingcenters, community centers, banks, parks, playgrounds, schoolsetc. thereby subscribing to the development of integrated humansettlements. Majority of the housing units have gone to low andmiddle income families. The housing stock created by housingcooperatives is qualitatively superior to that created by othersupply sub-systems catering to comparable income groups. The

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construction of housing units is based on highly participatoryinvolvement of members and generates sense of responsibilityamongst users for post occupancy maintenance and also providenecessary forum for effecting it.

Houses constructed through housing cooperativescomply with the requirement of local building regulations andtherefore, are not only Pucca houses but also conform to thenorms and standards prescribed by various service providinginstitutions like Water & Sewerage Corporation, Electricity Boards, Public Works Departments, Sanitation as well as HealthDepartments.

In addition to meeting the shelter requirements of theneedy people efficiently, housing cooperatives foster nationalintegration both as an end in itself and as a means to promotingnational development. However to fulfill its objective to provideaffordable shelter to the needy people, the cooperative housingsector faces numerous impediments like finance, availability ofland at cheaper rates, proper legal framework, lack ofcooperative education etc. which constrain the smoothfunctioning of housing cooperatives. Though the cooperativehousing sector is playing an important role in eradicating thehouselessness in the country but the performance of this sectorover the years has been highly influenced by the quantum offunds available to it.

The NCHF, being a nationwide organization of thecooperative housing movement, is engaged in promoting,developing, guiding and coordinating this movement in thecountry. NCHF is coordinating with the Central/StateGovernments and Union Territory Administrations and apprisingthem about the problems faced by cooperative housingmovement in the country.

The Government of India has assigned a vital role tohousing cooperatives in the National Urban Housing and HabitatPolicy to solve the problem of housing in the country. TheGovernment has declared ‘housing for all’ as a priority area andhas decided to focus on the housing needs of citizens in generaland that of the poor and the deprived in particular. Towards thisend, the Government launched a Two Million Housing

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Programme in the year 1998-99 with a target of construction ofadditional 20 lakh houses every year. The cooperatives weregiven the task of construction of one lakh dwelling units eachyear under the said Programme. Under the umbrella of NCHF,cooperatives have taken up the task in a determined mannerand as a result they have constructed/financed 11.49 lakhhousing units during the first 13 years of the implementation ofthe above Programme.

In order to be able to discharge the significant role thathas been assigned to them in the National Urban Housing andHabitat Policy and to meet the targets of Two Million HousingProgramme, housing cooperatives will have to enlarge the scaleand increase the pace of their activities. For doing this, they willbe in need of enormous funds. NCHF has approached theGovernment of India and financial institutions like LIC, NHB andHUDCO for mobilizing financial resources for Apex Federations.

Progress at a Glance 1. National Federation :: 1 2. State level Apex Cooperative Housing

Federations :: 26

3. Primary housing cooperatives affiliated to Apex Federations

:: 30000

4. Share Capital of Apex Federations :: Rs. 405.41 crores • Contributed by Primaries :: Rs. 285.02 crores

• Contributed by State Governments :: Rs. 120.39 crores

5. Loans raised :: Rs. 10446.84 crores 6. Loans disbursed :: Rs. 11104.26 crores 7. Housing Units constructed/financed • Completed :: 22.64 lakh

• Under Construction :: 1.39 lakh

Total :: 24.03 Lakh

One of the significant contributions of housingcooperatives is the improvement of the ecology of the area wherethey function. They plant trees and maintain gardens. Specialattention is paid by them to the collection and disposal of garbageand to keep the surroundings clean.

A remarkable step has been taken by housing

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cooperatives at the local level which is encouraging people totake positive steps for environment upgradation. Under the overallumbrella of NCHF, the housing cooperatives are contributing inimproving the environment of the dwelling place of an individualand thereby contributing in some way in the global challengefaced by the humanity. The housing cooperatives with amembership of about 70 lakh can play a major role in joininghands with the National Action Plan by doing a simple task ofplanting at least one tree per member. Thus, there may be atleast 70 lakh additional trees planted with the various housingcooperatives in India. This will be extremely helpful in cleaningthe environment and combating the challenge of global warming.

An appeal was issued by NCHF to all the state apexhousing federations, district housing federations, primary housingcooperatives as well as other cooperative institutions to play aneffective role in protecting environment. All the 70 lakh membersof housing cooperatives have been requested to join hands inprotecting the nature and consequently helping the mankind tobreathe fresh air; they have been urged to plant at least onesapling each for the cause. NCHF Secretariat has receivedencouraging response regarding the appeal of tree plantationfrom housing and other cooperatives in various States. Some ofthe cooperatives are proactive enough in conducting awarenessprogramme on global warming and benefit of planting trees, whileothers are contributing their bit by undertaking plantation incollaboration with the State Governments and Non-GovernmentalOrganisations.

Like previous years, the 58th All India Cooperative Weekwill be celebrated across the country from 14-20th November,2011 by cooperatives as per the nomenclature of various daysearmarked by the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI).The State level Apex Cooperative Housing Federations, DistrictCooperative Housing Federations and Primary HousingCooperatives should celebrate the Cooperative Week in a grandway and special programmes like meetings, symposia, seminars,etc. may be organized on 16th November, 2011 to mark the‘Shelter and Living Environment through Cooperatives’ Day.

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17TH NOVEMBER 2011

Cooperative Affordable Credit andOther Financial Service Day

T he cooperative credit structure is one of the most importantand oldest sectors of cooperative movement in India. The

institutional rural credit system for agriculture comprises of (i)Short Term and Long Term Credit Institutions, (ii) CommercialBanks, (iii) Regional Rural Banks, (iv) National Bank forAgriculture & Rural Development, and (v) Reserve Bank of India.The institutional credit delivery system for urban areas comprisesof, (i) Commercial Banks, (ii) Urban Cooperative Banks, and (iii)Urban Cooperative Credit Societies. Undisputedly, there is noother alternative other than cooperative credit structure so toserve the needs of the rural economy. The cooperative creditstructure was the first to realize that increasing rural incomesthrough enhancing agricultural production, generatingemployment in non-farming activities etc. has been critical forexpanding marketing accelerated investment and industrialgrowth. This has helped in boosting the growth rate of economyby providing a fillip to agricultural production in the country. Theshort-term cooperative institutions alone have the capabilities tomeet and cater to the agricultural needs of the farmers.Cooperatives with less than 6% of the deposits of the totalbanking sector in the country cater to around 50% of the shortterm agricultural needs of the farmers. They alone have issuedthe largest number of Kisan Credit Cards which are around 65%of the total Kisan Credit Cards issued in the country.

A large number of measures have been initiated providethe affordable credit and other financial services through thecooperative credit institutions and also to make them strong,viable, vibrant, self-reliant, dynamic and democratic. However,these institutions needs to be further strengthened.

The urban cooperative credit sector not only meets thecredit needs of middle classes and weaker sectors of societies

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located in urban areas but also inculcates in them the habit ofthrift & familiarizes them with banking practices. Creditcooperatives have played a vital role in the provision ofinstitutional credit for the development of agriculture in India andmore so in diffusion of green revolution. Till the nationalisationof private sector banks in 1969, the credit cooperatives werevirtually the sole purveyor of institutional credit in agriculture withthe exception of the plantation crops where the commercial bankswere financing the corporate sector involved in plantation.

Micro-finance is a term having a broad meaning and itcovers all types of micro products and micro services targetedat the poor population of any country, region, state, province of/and society. It refers to loans, savings, insurance, transferservices and other financial products targeted at low incomeclients. Among all these financial services, micro credit is morepopularly used in different parts of the world as an interventionstrategy of poverty eradication, employment generation and smallenterprise creation. Micro credit gives more emphasis on loans,while micro-finance includes support services where channelsfor thrift, market assistance, technical assistance, capacitybuilding, insurance, social and cultural programmes are opened.Thus, where micro-finance is “credit plus”, micro credit is “onlycredit”.

Cooperatives can be the best instruments for affordablecredit and other financial services in the country. They need tobe strengthened so that they can serve the needs of the poorfarmers and others. Recapitalisation of cooperative creditinstitutions may help these institutions serve the poor farmersand others in a best possible manner.

Based on the above nomenclature the following steps oractivities may be undertaken during the weeklong celebrations :

Conferences and seminars on the importance ofrural and urban credit and other financial servicesmay be organized to create awareness among themasses.

Ways must be visualized so as to communicate tothe masses the strengths and achievements of rural

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and urban affordable credit in the wake of economicrecession.

The cooperative federations dealing with credit mayundertake various measures to highlight theproblems of this sector to the policymakers throughrepresentations, letters, meetings, etc.

Print and electronic media may be used extensivelyto highlight the issues confronted by the sector.

Research and projects may be initiated on the issuesof this sector.

Highlighting the ways in which cooperative creditinstitutions can act as agents of affordable creditand other financial services through publication ofarticles, case studies, research reports, etc.

Organising essay competition on “Cooperativeaffordable Credit and other Financial Services”amongst the employees of cooperative creditinstitutions and other general masses.

Selecting top hundred fifty micro-credit institutionsin the country and awarding them, as theseinstitutions need to be encouraged for doing goodwork in grass-root areas.

More SHGs should be promoted by NABARD asthese SHGs act as good organisations for providingaffordable credit and other financial services to theneedy people.

During the week-long celebrations, the cooperativecredit institutions may think to organise a seminaron Cooperative Affordable Credit and other financialservices.

A comparative survey may be undertaken tohighlight the ways in which credit cooperatives cantackle rural poverty vis-a-vis other financialinstitutions.

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18TH NOVEMBER 2011

Empowerment of Women, Youthand Weaker sections through

Cooperative Day

T he theme of the 58th All India Cooperative Week celebration“Inclusive Development through Cooperatives” is very timely

at a time when inclusive growth has become one of the keycomponents of India’s economic growth in the recent times. Theconcept of inclusive growth can be concretized in reality only ifthe women, youth and weaker sections of the society areempowered. Their active participation in the developmentprocess at a time when the economic growth in the country isnot sustainable is key to the success of our economy. Thecooperative model of empowerment for women, youth andweaker sections has become a dominant mode of economy inthe recent times. Women, youth and weaker sections findcooperatives a good business model to show their potentialitiesof participation in a truly democratic and autonomous manner.Cooperatives provide them ample opportunities of empowermentin various ways. No doubt in the recent times, their participationin the cooperative movement has increased. This has resultedin a balanced development of the cooperative sector in thecountry.

Cooperatives are empowering institutions because theyare democratically owned and governed enterprises guided bythe values of self help, self responsibility, democracy, equality,equity and solidarity. The members through democratic normsparticipate in decision making which is a clear recognition oftheir intrinsic self- worth. For empowering women in a true sense,they should gain self reliance and self esteem throughparticipation. The improvement in their living standards and theircontribution to social development is all due to theirempowerment. Whether it is through only women cooperatives

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or cooperatives made of women and men, women empowermentthrough cooperatives is gaining popularity day by day. Thereare many examples of successful participation of women incooperatives. The women cooperatives at SEWA have donewonderful work as far as women empowerment is concerned.Whether it is SEWA Bank, Insurance Scheme, Eco Tourism etc.women are in the fore-front everywhere. One of the major factorsof success for Dairy Cooperatives in the country has been womenparticipation. The successful Women Field Projects of NCUI arealso a good example of women empowerment. Today is an ageof entrepreneurship. Cooperatives are encouraging this, andwomen now find cooperatives as important medium of incomegeneration. The wide mushrooming of women Self Help Groupswith the sole objective of income generation based on cooperativeprinciple is an indicator of this.

India has a primarily youth population. Youth are easilyattracted towards commercial tendencies and they easily identifythemselves with consumerism. However, the cooperativesbecause of their empowering characteristics have hugepotentialities for active youth participation. At present thecooperative movement in the country has to tap youth populationin large numbers so as to provide a strong dynamism to thecooperative sector of the country. As compared to womenparticipation, youth participation is not of the same level. This ismainly because the concept of cooperatives has not beenpopularized amongst the youth segment to a desired degree.The concept of cooperatives amongst the youth has not beenpopularized in the educational institutions of the country as aresult of which the student cooperatives have not developedaccording to their full potentialities. The school / collegecooperatives are primarily present in the southern part of thecountry. In northern parts of the country, the school/collegecooperatives are almost absent. Youth participation is veryimportant for strengthening the cooperative leadership in thecountry .Empowerment of youth through cooperatives is veryimportant for providing youth the leadership qualities which canenable them to act as agents of change in the society .A definitepolicy for establishing school/college cooperatives must beformulated by the Government, and for this strong advocacy/

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lobbying has to be undertaken by the cooperative sector. NationalCooperative Union of India through its cooperative awarenessevents, and sensitization programmes has taken a definite standfor empowering the youth through cooperatives.

Cooperatives have a wider social base in the country.Due to their inclusive approach, their appeal extends to allsections of the society without a discriminatory approach, orprejudices. The objective of housing cooperatives is primarily toprovide shelter to the weak and deprived sections of the society.More specifically, the labour, fisheries and tribal cooperativesserve the needs of the weaker sections of the society and in therecent times their activities have increased and diversified tohelp this section of the society. The insurance scheme ofFISHCOPFED for the weaker sections of fishery population is abig boon for this community. The cooperatives believe in providingequal opportunities to the weaker sections of the society. TribalCooperative Marketing Development Federation of India hasplayed an important role in providing markets to the tribalproducts.

During the Cooperative Week Celebration, thecooperatives must adopt following action plan:

The cooperatives must provide women ampleopportunities for active participation. Bestperforming women cooperative leaders should beawarded.

To provide a level playing field to women, 30%reservation policy in the Boards of Cooperativesmust be implemented. This will strengthendemocratic cooperative governance.

Successful women cooperatives must beapproached so that they provide success storieswhich can be well publicized in the media.

Conferences related to women participation incooperatives must be organized and specializedpapers may be invited. Similarly, conference ofsuccessful women cooperative, entrepreneurs may

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be organized which can highlight the business skillsof women cooperators.

A women cooperative beneficiaries conference maybe organized so that impact of women participationin cooperatives may be assessed through closeinteractions with the beneficiaries of womencooperative programmes.

At least 5 Model School Cooperatives must bedeveloped in the country. Ways have to bevisualized so that they function smoothly.

Cooperative awareness events like Quiz, Debate,Declamation, Essay Competition etc. may beorganized at regular intervals. Sensitizationprogrammes on cooperatives for the schools mayalso be organized regularly.

Innovative cooperative campaigns must belaunched so that youth can be connected to thecooperative concept.

Employment generating skills must be developedfor the weaker sections of the society so that theyconsider cooperatives a viable business model fortheir socio-economic development.

Incentives or awards must be given to goodfunctioning weaker section cooperatives.

A joint national conference of all the weaker sectioncooperatives must be organized and itsrecommendations must be widely publicized.

A research study on “Advantages of WeakerSections Joining Cooperatives” must be undertakenso that this acts as a strong basis for cooperativeadvocacy.

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19TH NOVEMBER 2011

Cooperative Values, Principles andGood Governance

T here has been growing concerns regarding social disparityand environmental degradation, as the human societies

move further into the development process. Cooperatives haveand will continue to play a leading role in defining andimplementing organizational system that are financially, sociallyand environmentally sustainable. The Cooperative Principlesand values are the starting point and foundation for cooperativesustainability principles.

The International Cooperative Alliance has been theauthority for defining cooperatives and for elaborating theprinciples upon which cooperatives should be based. Previously,the ICA had made two formal declarations on cooperativeprinciples, the first in 1937, and the second in 1966. These twoearlier versions, like the 1995 reformulation were attempts toexplain how cooperative principles should be interpreted in thecontemporary world. The ICA at its Manchester Congress inSeptember 1995 adopted a Statement on “Cooperative Identity”.The statement includes a definition of cooperatives, a listing ofthe movements’ key values, and a revised set of principlesintended to guide cooperative organizations at the beginning ofthe twenty-first century.

The statement defines Cooperative in the following way:-

“A Cooperative is an autonomous association of personsunited voluntarily to meet their common economic social andcultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned anddemocratically controlled enterprise.” The definition brings forththe following characteristic of a cooperative organization -

A Cooperative is an autonomous body, independentof government or any other body.

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It is an association of persons.

It is a body to meet common economic, social andcultural needs and aspirations of the members.

It is a voluntary organization jointly owned andcontrolled by the members in a democratic way. Itemphasises that within cooperatives, control indistributed among members on democratic basis.

Values: A Cooperative is a value-based organization. Itis the presence of values in socio-economic terms, which makesa cooperative organization unique. The basic values ofcooperation are universal in nature and in application. Identitystatement (1995) on “Values” lays down that cooperatives arebased on the values of self-help, self responsibility, democracy,equality, equity and solidarity. Cooperative members believe,like in the tradition of their founders, in the ethical values ofhonesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.In reality, there is no conflict between cooperative values andcooperative business. Both go together and each fulfils the other.

Cooperative Principles

The cooperative principles are guidelines by whichcooperatives put their values into practice.

1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership

Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to allpersons able to use their services and willing to accept theresponsibilities of membership without gender, social, racial,political, or religious discrimination.

2nd Principle: Democratic Member Control

Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled bytheir members, who actively participate in setting their policiesand making decisions. Men and women serving as electedrepresentatives are accountable to the membership. In primarycooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member,one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are also organized ina democratic manner.

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3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation

Members contribute equitably to, and democraticallycontrol, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capitalis usually the common property of the cooperative. Membersusually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribedas a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses forany or all of the following purposes: developing their cooperatives,possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would beindivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactionswith the cooperatives; and supporting other activities approvedby the membership.

4th Principle: Autonomy and independence

Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizationcontrolled by their members. If they enter into agreements withother organizations, including governments, or raise capital fromexternal sources, they do on terms that ensure democratic controlby their members and maintain cooperative autonomy.

5th Principle: Education, Training and Information

Cooperatives provide education and training for theirmembers, elected representatives, managers and employeesso that they can contribute to the development of theircooperatives. They inform the general public particularly youngpeople and opinion leaders- about the nature and benefits ofcooperation.

6th Principle: Cooperation among Cooperatives

Cooperative serve their members most effectively andstrengthen the cooperative movement by working togetherthrough local, regional national and international structures. Inorder to build an integrated cooperative system, it is necessarythat cooperatives should cooperate among themselves verticallyand horizontally for strengthening their organisations.

7th Principle: Concern for Community

While focussing on member needs and wishes,Cooperative works for the sustainable development of theircommunities through policies approved by their members.

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Good Governance is Cooperatives

The use of good practices of Governance has proved tobe fundamental in the success and parenniality of organisations.The basic objective of cooperative organisations is to fulfilmembers social economic and cultural needs Cooperativegovernance represents a democratic system of managementwhen the exercise of authority is derived from its membership.Factors such as undemocratic management, losses in business,poor resources, lack of capital, lack of transparency,centralisation of power, poor audit, ineffective reporting system,lack of professionalism, etc. are existing in the cooperativeorganisation which are not performing well.

Good Governance in cooperatives call for enlightenedmembers, professional management, good relationship betweenBoard and staff, application of cooperative principles and valuesin the right spirit, strong internal capital Good Governance incooperative requires transparency in decisions, services,procedures and follow up action, participation of memberselected board and users, accountability to members, customersand community as whole

Good governance in cooperatives involves the processof decision making and the process by which decision areimplemented or not implemented. The major characteristics ofgood Governance are as under:-

Participation, consensus oriented, accountable,transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable andinclusive and follow the rule of law. We are witnessing theoccurrence of a variety of problems in different cooperativesacross the country such as lack of professionalism failure ofdemocracy, law levels of member participation etc. Goodgovernance is essential in cooperatives to ensure that their goalto help the members economic, social, cultural needs andaspirations are achieved.

The values and principles of cooperative are the suitabledirectives to cooperatives good governance. Keeping in viewthe significant importance good governance in cooperatives thefollowing activities/programmes may be organised on this day:

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Organise seminars/workshops to give awarenessto the members/Board of Director/General Publicabout the values and principles of cooperatives.

Arrange training for Board of Directors/members/employees about the Bye-laws and itsimplementation in the right spirit.

Arrange film shows on cooperative success stories.

Discussions may be arranged by the cooperativesocieties for members to chalk out strategies forimprovement of members participation in themanagement of cooperative to being moretransparency and efficiency.

Arrange visits to good/successful cooperativessocieties for members/Board of Directors/employees and have interactor/learning sessions.

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20TH NOVEMBER 2011

Cooperative Human ResourceDevelopment and Cooperation

among Cooperative Day

Introduction

India moves towards progressively ‘Knowledge Economy’. Skillsand Knowledge are the important driving forces of economicand Social development of any Country. The Eleventh Five YearPlan focused on advancement of Skills and these Skills have tobe relevant to the emerging inclusive economic growth of RuralIndia. Cooperative is one of the sectors, which renders servicesto the poor people and uplifts the socio-economic status ofmembers.

A Cooperative organization is an autonomous associationof persons united voluntarily to meet their Common economic,Social and Cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-ownedand democratically controlled enterprise. Since its inception ofthe movement, there is need for creating awareness andacceptance of Human Resource Development (HRD) to achievethe organizational goals and objectives.

Concept of HRD in Cooperatives:

The significance of professionalisation of Managementin Cooperatives has been introduced after the globalization ofIndian Economy. Sustainable Human Resource Developmentand Training System have development according to the presentenvironment to promote Cooperatives both vertically andhorizontally growth and created HRD Network amongcooperatives to exchange information and experience.

“The concept of HRD in cooperative means all theplanned information, education, training, mobilization andmanpower development activities undertaken by cooperativesso as to create economically efficient, organizational capable of

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providing services required by their members.

Need for HRD in Cooperatives:

Cooperatives have been effectively utilizing the need ofthe Human Resources in the following purposes. They are:

Recruitment and Placement of Personnel.

Personnel Development and Career Planning.

Systems of Individual Performance measures.

Training and Skills upgradation.

Cooperation among Cooperatives:

The Sixth Principle of Cooperative Identity (1995) Statesthat “Cooperation among Cooperatives”. It means to renderservices to their members most effectively and strengthen themovement by way of joining together, thinking together, investingtogether, planning together, working together and equallydistributing surplus together.

The Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS)have the largest rural financial network at grass root level, whichare affiliated to District Central Cooperative Banks (DCBs) toborrow financial assistance for Crop loan purpose. Under thethree-tier structure of Short term Credit, PACS has verticalrelationship with DCB or CCB to promote business transactionsand improve the managerial skills of personnel.

The Govt. of India, has formulated a revival package(2004) for restructuring and strengthening of rural cooperativecredit institutions. Based on that, NABARD has designed TrainingModules for ‘Capacity Building’ ‘Common Accounting System’and ‘Reporting System’ for PACS, CCBs and SCBs personnelfor sustainable development of Credit Cooperatives.

Linking of Credit with Marketing

Vertical relationship is not only sufficient for sustainabledevelopment of Cooperatives at the grass root level. It needs tohave horizontal relationship among the cooperatives to promoteother sectors of cooperatives such as Marketing Cooperatives,Sugar Cooperatives etc. The All India Rural Credit survey

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committee (1954) has recommended that “Linking of Credit withMarketing”. It needs to have cooperation among other sectorsof Cooperatives (both vertical and horizontal) to undertake ordevelop business activities and promote economic status ofmembers. The PACS extends its relationship with MarketingCooperatives to procure cotton from their members and arrangeto provide better price for their produce. In this way the PACShas business relationship with Marketing Cooperatives as wellas, the PACS has created Marketing Channel to their memberproduce to get attractive price. On the other side, the MarketingCooperatives could enhance its business transactions by way ofmaking an agreement between them.

HRD Activities

On the eve of this day, Cooperative training institutesshould have to organize the following HRD activities to thepersonnel as well as the members of cooperatives. They are:

1. arrange one day workshop relating to HRD issuesand find out suitable solutions to improve thefunctions of an organization.

2. arrange awareness programme to the studentsabout “Cooperation among Cooperatives”.

3. visit adopted societies and provide technical supportto develop the day-to-day activities of theCooperatives.

4. visit SHG organizations and Village Panchayats topropagate the message of cooperative weekcelebration to be public.

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MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE

89th ICA International Cooperative Day17th UN International Day of Cooperatives

2nd July 2011

“Youth, the Future of Cooperative Enterprise”

T he theme for the International Day of Cooperatives 2011highlights how the cooperative model of enterprise can

successfully empower youth. It links to the celebration of theUnited Nations International Year of Youth, which concludes inAugust 2011, just prior to the launch of the United NationsInternational Year of Cooperatives 2012. The Year of Youthencourages dialogue and understanding across generations andpromotes the ideals of peace, respect for human rights andfreedoms, and solidarity.

The International Day of Cooperatives addresses the needfor all cooperative stakeholders to promote the participation ofyoung people in the cooperative movement. Too often youngpeople are not aware of the cooperative model of enterprise;they do not learn about cooperatives in school, as cooperativesoften do not figure in school curricula. Young people also maynot realise that the products and services they use are providedby cooperatives.

Yet, cooperatives provide young people opportunities thataddress their practical and strategic needs. They offer them amodel of enterprise to create their own businesses. They offerthe opportunities to be employed with enterprises that addressyoung people’s concerns for more democratic, responsible andethical business operations.

At a time when social media connect young people to anextent never seen before, cooperatives are seeingunprecedented opportunities. The cooperative is a model thatembodies collaborative forms of action so appealing to thisemerging generation.

Cooperatives provide opportunities to young people to gainprofessional employment experiences, to further their education

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and provide capacity building, encourage participation in decision-making in cooperatives or form their own cooperatives.

ICA’s engagement with youth is long-standing. The ICABoard co-opted its first youth representative in 2003 to participatefully in the discussions of the Board, and in 2008 the ICAformalised the election by the ICA General Assembly of a youthrepresentative as a board member.

Additionally, ICA has an active Youth Network, which aimsto:

help young cooperators from different countries to connectand to share experiences and ideas;

provide an environment where young cooperators can learnmore about the wider cooperative movement;

involve young people from outside the movement througheducation and support;

empower young cooperators to engage with the rest of themovement to both raise the profile of youth issues and toensure the youth perspective is presented during widerdiscussions.

As part of its priorities for the International Year ofCooperatives 2012, ICA seeks to engage greater numbers ofyouth in the cooperative movement. ICA is organising an artisticcompetition open to young adults all over the world with thepurpose of promoting the values and principles of cooperationamong the youth: the Coop’Art competition. Participants will beable to submit their projects through a dedicated webpage fromNovember 2011 to May 2012 and the award ceremony will beheld in Manchester in November 2012. Any person between 16and 35 years-old can participate. There are three differentcategories for the competition: music, video and photography.The aim is to promote the principles of cooperation in a wayattractive to young people to raise their awareness about thecooperative movement worldwide.

On this International Day of Cooperatives, the ICA calls oncooperators throughout the world to engage young people inthe cooperative movement and to invest in their future leadership.

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NCUI PUBLICATIONSAnalytical Study of Primary Agricultural Cooperative ... Rs. 150/-

Societies in India (1960-61 to 1999-2000)Statewise Study of Consumers Cooperatives in India

(1960-61 to 1988-89) ... Rs. 150/-Analytical Study of Marketing Cooperatives in India

(1960-61 to 1990-91) ... Rs. 150/-Ends and Means of Cooperative Development ... Rs. 60/-

by S.S. PuriDemocracy in Cooperative Movement ... Rs. 60/-

—An Indian Profileby Dr. R.C. Dwivedi

Supreme Court on Cooperative Law (1961-87) ... Rs. 125/-Supreme Court and High Courts ... Rs. 300/-

on Cooperative Law 1998–2000Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 2002 ... Rs. 50/-The Multi-State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2002 ... Rs. 50/-Anthology of Cooperative Thought Vol. II ... Rs. 15/-Anthology of Cooperative Thought Vol. III ... Rs. 30/-Indian Cooperative Laws vis-a-vis Cooperative ... Rs. 35/-

Principles (Hindi)by P.E. Weeraman, R.C. Dwivedi and P. Sheshadri

Survey of Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies in ... Rs. 32/-Mauritiusby Dr. M.P. Saxena

Human Resource Development through Cooperative ... Rs. 40/-Extensionby Dr. M.P. Saxena

Mahatma Gandhi and Cooperative Movement ... Rs. 10/-by B.K. Sinha

In-Service Training Programme for Managers of ... Rs. 45/-Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives

Cooperative Legislation in India—An Overview ... Rs. 10/-Speeches of Shri Chaturanan Mishra ... Rs. 100/-(Prices are exclusive of postage charges)Besides this NCUI Publishes two journals(i) The Cooperator (Monthly), Annual charges ... Rs. 300/-(ii) Indian Cooperative Review, (Quarterly), ... Rs. 240/-

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58TH

GUIDELINES

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE UNION OF INDIA3, SIRI INSTITUTIONAL AREA, AUGUST KRANTI MARG

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14–20 NOVEMBER, 2011

ALL INDIA COOPERATIVE WEEK