Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to the people associated with cooperative institutions to open their bank accounts in the District Cooperative Banks, so that a strong economic structure can be built in the cooperative sector.

“If the mantra of “Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives” is successful, then India does not need to take help from anyone in the cooperative sector,” Shah said while addressing the 76th Annual General Meeting of Kheda District Central Cooperative (KDCC) Bank Limited, Nadiad, Gujarat through video conferencing. He virtually inaugurated the new building of the bank (Sardar Patel Sahkar Bhavan) constructed at a cost of Rs 18.70 crore.

There is no need to take even a single rupee from the Central or the State Government, the Minister said.

Shah said the entire cooperative movement can run strongly only with the money of cooperative institutions.

He said the Centre is running pilot projects under the new initiative “Cooperation Amongst Cooperatives” in Banaskantha and Panchmahal districts.

Shah said the District Cooperative Banks should also contribute towards strengthening the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

He said the Government of India has started strengthening PACSs by taking 20 different initiatives and the District Cooperative Banks should also come forward in this work. The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said stronger PACS will further strengthen the cooperative banks.

Addressing the programme, Shah said Kheda is the same district from where Amul was started under the successful guidance of the country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

He said Amul has set an example of achieving “Sahkar se Samriddhi” (Prosperity through Cooperation) in front of the entire country and the world.

Shah said that till some time ago there were talks of closure of Kheda District Cooperative Bank, but today this bank has constructed its own building of 36,000 square feet and has realised the dreams of implementing all rules of e-banking.

He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the people of the country have got the formula of “Sahkar se Samriddhi aur Samriddhi se Sampoornata”.

He said under this vision, the Prime Minister established the Ministry of Cooperation at the Centre for the first time after 75 years of independence. Shah said this initiative will play an important role in giving the cooperative sector an added life of at least 100 years in the coming times.

The Union Home Minister said Sardar Patel Sahkar Bhavan is a modern, four-storey, centrally air-conditioned building which will prove to be very useful for the farmers and residents of Kheda district.

Speaking at the occasion, Shah said Kheda District Central Cooperative Bank has introduced loan management, document management system and tablet banking for the first time in the cooperative banking system of Gujarat, which is a landmark achievement.

He said since its inauguration in 1950, Kheda District Cooperative Bank has served the farmers of the region well and today it is in a net profit of about Rs 31 crore. There were times when there were apprehensions about its future, but after getting the license in 2012, it now has a reserve fund of Rs 258 crore and deposits of Rs 2500 crore.