Towards Prosperity Through Cooperation: Regional Cooperative Workshop of Six States Concludes in Nava Raipur

Consultation on Empowering Dairy, Fisheries, and Multipurpose PACS, Review of Progress on Grain Storage Scheme Raipur, May 23, 2026/ To bring Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's concept of "Cooperation for Prosperity" into reality, the Central Ministry of Cooperation organized a one-day regional workshop of six states from the Eastern region in Nava Raipur. This workshop was held under the joint aegis of the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India, and the National Dairy Development Board. Secretary Dr. Bhutani Chaired The workshop was chaired by Dr. Ashish Kumar Bhutani, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, Government of India. Detailed discussions were held on making the cooperative sector modern, self-reliant, and employment-oriented. Senior officials from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal participated in the workshop. This workshop is considered a significant initiative towards rural development, increasing farmers' income, and empowering cooperative institutions. Cooperative-based schemes will boost economic activities in villages and make farmers, animal husbandry farmers, and fishermen self-reliant. Progress of Central Schemes Reviewed The progress of schemes implemented on the initiative of Union Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah was reviewed in the meeting. Strategies to make cooperative institutions a strong foundation of the rural economy were deliberated upon. Emphasis on Making PACS Multipurpose Special emphasis was laid on the formation and strengthening of dairy, fisheries, and multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies (PACS). Progress in the formation of 2 lakh new dairy, fisheries, and multipurpose PACS across the country was reviewed. Discussions were also held in detail on the implementation of the world's largest cooperative grain storage scheme. Experts stated that PACS are being developed not just for credit distribution but as multipurpose rural service centers. Under this, activities like fertilizer-seed distribution, paddy procurement, public distribution system, dairy, fisheries, warehousing, and rural entrepreneurship are being promoted. This will provide better facilities and employment opportunities to farmers and villagers at the village level. Deliberation on Business Expansion Meaningful discussions were held in the workshop on the business diversification of PACS. Officials intensively deliberated on making PACS economically strong and self-reliant, so that the rural economy can gain new momentum. Senior officials present at the program included Shri Siddharth Jain, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation; Shri Raman Kumar, Joint Secretary; Dr. C. R. Prasanna, Secretary Cooperation, Government of Chhattisgarh; Shri Mahadev Kawre, Commissioner Cooperation and Registrar; Dr. V. Sridhar and Senior Manager Shri Rishikesh Kumar from NDDB, Anand, Gujarat. Additionally, Mrs. Savitri Bhagat, Additional Registrar; Shri U.B.S. Rathia, Joint Registrar; Shri D.K. Gawali, Chief General Manager, NABARD; Shri Dhrup Raj Singh, DGM; Shri Mayur Chavan, Assistant Manager; Shri Yugal Kishore, General Manager, Apex Bank; Shri Dilip Jaiswal, General Manager, Markfed; Shri Bhupesh Chandrawanshi, DGM, Apex Bank; Shri Arun Purohit, AGM; Shri L.K. Choudhary and Shri Abhishek Tiwari, Manager, along with senior officials from Cooperation, NABARD, Food Corporation of India, Nafed, Warehousing, Dairy, and Fisheries departments.