Himachal Pradesh is an ideal state for the cooperatives, said the Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Krishan Pal Gurjar, on Sunday, while he chaired a meeting of the hill state’s cooperative department to review the various Centrally-sponsored initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperative sector. As stated by the Union minister, there are quite a lot of possibilities in this field in a diverse state like Himachal Pradesh.
He further launched 121 e-PACS, which refer to the electronic transformation of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), enabling them to deliver digital services and function as common service centres. Gurjar assured that the Central government is up to provide the hill state with every possible help in the field of cooperatives.
Attending the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said the cooperative movement in Himachal is being taken to every household. He cited, “The cooperative societies in the state are doing excellent work. About 20 lakh people in Himachal are associated with cooperatives. The cooperative societies are setting an example in women’s empowerment. At present, 2,287 PACS are working towards rural financial inclusion, for which six new multi-purpose societies have been formed.”
“Seventy-six societies are serving the fishing community, 971 dairy societies are engaged in milk production and distribution, 441 societies are providing savings and credit facilities, and 386 primary marketing cooperative societies are helping the farmers sell their produce. Himachal is also progressing in the dairy sector, where 561 new societies have been established,” he added.
To expand cooperatives in the state, the draft of Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Policy 2025 has been prepared in line with the Central cooperative policies, he said, while he requested Gurjar to extend generous support to Himachal in the field, seeking funds for the computerisation of societies and support for the digitisation of Himfed and Milkfed.
The deputy chief minister also sought early financial assistance for the HIMCAPS College of Law in Una district, and urged the reconsideration of the fee structure in the proposed Tribhuvan Cooperative University, being established for capacity building in the cooperative sector.
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