EVOLUTION
IN INDIA
·
A cooperative ("coop")
or co-operative ("co-op")
is an autonomous association of person who
voluntarily cooperate for their mutual social, economic, and
cultural benefit.
·
The cooperative movement in India owes its
origin to agriculture and allied sectors.
·
End of the 19th
century, the problems of rural indebtedness and the consequent conditions of
farmers created an environment for the chit funds and cooperative societies.
·
Cooperative movement was an attractive
mechanism for pooling their meagre resources for solving common problems relating to credit, supplies of inputs and
marketing of agricultural produce.
·
The experience
gained in the working of cooperatives led to the enactment of Cooperative
Credit Societies Act, 1904. Subsequently, a more comprehensive legislation
called the Cooperative Societies Act was enacted.
·
Under the
Montague-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, cooperation became a provincial subject and the provinces were authorized to make their
own cooperative laws.
·
Under the Government of India Act, 1935,
cooperatives were treated as a provincial subject.
·
The item
"Cooperative Societies" is a State Subject under entry No.32 of the
State List of the Constitution of India.
·
In order to cover
Cooperative Societies with membership from more than one province, the
Government of India enacted the Multi-Unit
Cooperative Societies Act, 1942.
·
With the
emergence of national federations of cooperative societies in various
functional areas and to obviate the
plethora of different laws governing the same types of societies, a need
was felt for a comprehensive Central
legislation to consolidate the laws governing such cooperative societies.
Therefore, the Multi-State Cooperative
Societies Act, 1984 was enacted by Parliament under Entry No. 44 of the Union
List of the Constitution of India.
·
After Independence cooperatives assumed a
great significance in poverty removal and faster socio-economic growth.
·
Cooperatives
became an integral part of the Five Year Plans.
·
In the 1st
Five Year Plan stated that the success of the Plan would be judged by the
extent it was implemented through cooperative organisations.
·
The All-India
Rural Credit Survey Committee Report, 1954 recommended an integrated approach
to cooperative credit.
·
In 1958 the
National Development Council (NDC) had recommended a national policy on
cooperatives. Jawaharlal Nehru had a strong faith in the cooperative movement.
·
During 1960s,
further efforts were made to consolidate the cooperative societies by their
re-organisation. Consequently, the number of primary agricultural cooperative
credit societies was reduced from around 2lakh to 92,000.
·
The number of all
types of cooperatives increased from 1.81 lakh in 1950-51 to 4.53 lakh in
1996-97.
·
The cooperatives
have been operating in various areas of the economy such as credit, production, processing, marketing,
input distribution, housing, dairying and textiles. In some of the areas of
their activities like dairying, urban banking and housing, sugar and handlooms,
the cooperatives have achieved success to an extent but there are larger areas
where they have not been so successful.
·
The failure of co-operatives
in the country is mainly attributable to: dormant membership and lack of active
participation of members in the management of cooperatives. Mounting overdues to
cooperative credit institution, lack of mobilisation of internal resources and
over-dependence on Government assistance, lack of professional management. Bureaucratic
control and interference in the management, political interference and
over-politisation have proved harmful to their growth. Predominance of vested
interests resulting in non-percolation of benefits to a common member,
particularly to the class of persons for whom such cooperatives were basically
formed, has also retarded the development of cooperatives. These are the areas
which need to be attended to by evolving suitable legislative and policy
support.
DRAWBACKS
·
Dormant membership and lack of active participation of
members in the management of cooperatives.
·
Mounting over dues in cooperative credit institutions,
lack of mobilization of internal resources and over dependence on government
assistance, lack of professional management, bureaucratic control and
interference in the management, political interference and over-politicization
have proved harmful to their growth.
·
These are the areas which need to be attended to by
evolving suitable legislative and policy support.
·
For the success of any developmental effort in the
agricultural sector is to synergize with the efforts in the cooperative sector.
·
Cooperative sector of Indian economy has a spiritual
content too when it was led by Vinoba Bhave.
·
Most of the financial institutions in the cooperative
sector are also run on purely commercial basis diverting fro their social objectives.
WAY AHEAD AND SHARE OF CO-OPERATIVE
·
It is here that the State intervention can make the
difference.
·
The grant, subsidies and aid meant for the poor
farmers must be channeled through the cooperative sector.
·
Once there are enough resources in the sector in terms
of money there will be increased participation by the people and will result in
the all round development of the village.
·
Panchayat Raj institutions and cooperative sector can
bring about positive change in the rural areas.
·
Cooperatives have extended across 230 million members
nationwide.
·
The cooperative credit system largest network in the
world and cooperatives has advanced more credit in the Indian agricultural
sector than commercial banks.
·
Distribution the Indian Fertilizer Cooperative
commands over 35% of the market.
·
In the production of sugar the cooperative share of
the market is over 58% in cotton 60%.The cooperative sector accounts for 55% of
the looms in the hand-weaving sector.
·
Cooperative process, market and distribute 50% of the
edible oil.
·
Dairy cooperative operating under the leadership of
the National Dairy Development Board become the largest producer of milk.
·
With the efforts of National Cooperative Union of
India the Central Government passed the Multi State Cooperatives Societies Act
and also formulated a national cooperative policy that provides greater
autonomy to cooperatives.
·
With the passage of the Insurance Act, cooperatives
have been allowed to enter into the insurance business. Insurance is a field
where the immense potential of cooperatives still remains untapped.
·
In the new economic environment cooperatives at all
levels are making efforts to reorient their functions according to the market
demands.
·
Cooperatives are also considered to have immense
potential to deliver goods and services in areas where both the state and the
private sector have failed.
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